UNICORNS, DRAGONS & ANGELS!! They ARE real! They DO exist! Pics to Prove it!

[jcribb16]

Wow!  Such differences between the Axolotl and the Deep Sea Scale Worm!  Like you said, one's as ugly as the other is cute, lol.  

The Worm is definitely alien looking, lol.. Maybe now we have figured out where the writers of alien movies get their inspiration from?  

Pokemon's Mudkip being based on the Axolotl is really cute!  He looks so friendly, lol.

Here's one I thought was weird:

"What big teeth!

Imagine living in the sea where it is permanently dark, cold, and food is hard to find. For many animals at depth, it may be weeks to months between meals. If you find something to eat, you have to hang on to it. This is why so many deep-sea fishes have lots of big teeth. This dragonfish, spotted off the coast of Australia, even has teeth on its tongue. They would be terrifying animals … if they weren’t the size of a banana."

 
 

I saw a picture of that one somewhere too......but I didn't check it out, and didn't know it was called a Dragonfish.
Scary-looking teeth, indeed!!

I started a new topic - "Real Live Monsters......of the Sea," (and @ jcribb16 - I re-posted both of our "Monster" posts over there to start it off....)

I thought we could put all the ugly and scary-looking ones there, and put the cool-looking, or "pretty" or cute ones here.

Thanks for letting me know!  I'll go check it out. 

[jcribb16]

     
                                 Psychedelic frogfish
                                (Histiophryne psychedelica)

The psychedelic frogfish is a small creature, growing to just 6 inches long, and lives in the ocean near Bali and Indonesia.
It is endemic to Ambon island, and spends most of its time in shallow waters close to shore.
It gets the first part of its name from its skin, a beautiful swirling pattern of yellow, white and dark orange.

The psychedelic frogfish's skin is unique to each fish, just as our fingerprints are to us.   
It is also unique among fish because of its flat face, which gives it the same depth perception as humans. 

The psychedelic frogfish moves by walking on its pectoral fins over the seafloor, and has been observed using its fins to push off from the sea floor while at the same time shooting water through its gills to propel itself forward via jet propulsion. When doing so, the fish takes on a ball shape, and its behavior takes on that of a bouncing beach ball in the wind.

The psychedelic frogfish was first "discovered" in 1992, in a shipment of assorted fishes sent from Bali, Indonesia, to the Dallas World Aquarium. They were in "very poor condition", and they died that same month.

The specimens were preserved and sent to evolutionary biologist, Theodore Wells Pietsch, for identification, along with a photo of very poor quality.

However, after having been "fixed" and preserved in chemicals, their colors had faded, and their faces had lost their distinct shape.
As a result, when the fish were analyzed, they were misidentified.

The specimens were then preserved and placed on a shelf, and no one returned to them until their recent rediscovery in 2008.
     

Only 6 inches long?  Goodness - with all of the detail and colors on it, it sure seems it would be larger than that!  It's really neat looking!

[LadyFaith]

oh the blue dragon sea slug is actually kinda cute, wonder if they can be kept as pets. 

[bretay]

unusual looking creatures

[MichelleHW101]

That is not photoshop.  Those fish are real and you will find new 'weird' or 'unusual' creatures that people are still discovering because there are so many species of life still to discover.  Just last year I saw a fish that can actually walk on land when it wants to otherwise it's a regualr fish in the ocean.

[duroz]

That is not photoshop. 

? Not sure what you were getting at here.....

Those fish are real......

Yes they are ALL real.....that was the whole point of this thread, to share pics and info on unusual (REAL) creatures. 

[Mykat]

I think this little guy (gal?) is really kind of cute! It's so "happy-looking", it almost looks like it's smiling!  

                 

The Axolotl is a curious creature native to Mexico. It is a type of salamander that does not complete its development in the adult phase – it stays a larva and never grows up. Thus, the gills remain and the Axolotl is 100% aquatic, despite the small legs it has.

Adult Axolotls range in size from 15 cm (5.85 in) to 45 cm (17.5 in) long and have a wide variety of colors, including grey, shades of brown, yellow and red. They also have harlequin mixtures of colors and patterns. They look like very large tadpoles, with legs and prominent gills. Female axolotls have wider bodies than males, and males have swollen clocae (multi-purpose posterior opening). They use their external gills to extract oxygen from water, but can also gulp air from the surface, using buccal pumping - opening and closing the bottom part of the mouth.

The Axolotl's natural habitat has always been restricted to two lakes in Mexico: Lake Chalco and Lake Xochimilco. Lake Chalco was drained to prevent annual flooding, so the species has been confined to the Xochimilco lake district, which has become a series of canals, more than a real lake.

Their wild habitat has been shrinking in recent years, due to pollution and the introduction of carp and other non-indigenous fish into the lake. These fish feed on the axolotl young and on the eggs. The Xochimilco lake and its surrounding wetlands are used for the supply of water to Mexico City, and the city's increasing size is putting a strain on the species. There are as few as 700 to 1,200 individual Axolotls alive in the lake, located in six separate regions.

              You may "recognize" the cartoon form of the Axolotl (from the Pokemon series) - “Mudkip”

                            

*While looking for info on the Axolotl on different sites, I found out that people DO keep these cute little salamanders as pets.

These little critters are too cute. I wish I could have some for pets.

[duroz]

*While looking for info on the Axolotl on different sites, I found out that people DO keep these cute little salamanders as pets.

These little critters are too cute. I wish I could have some for pets.

I know!! They are SOOOO cute!  They almost don't look real......
(I didn't think it WAS real, when I first saw a picture of one... I thought what the heck IS that - looks like someone made it, and posed it for the picture.)

[ninajay]

Wow..great pics. Those are some very interesting looking creatures.

[duroz]

OK here's a weird one:

Two of these were in MY BACK YARD today....(? ? ?)

They weren't really big, but they weren't small either. Their heads were a really pretty color, like a blueish-purple. 

After determining that I was NOT hallucinating and/or losing my mind, I did some searching on the internet to find out what the heck they were (it took a while too, as all I could do was put in descriptions of what they looked like!)

     

They didn't stick around very long, and after figuring out what they were, I assume that they were young ones, just
out exploring.  (Out from WHERE, I have no idea.....no-one seems to know of anyone around here who owns any of these).


Does anyone know what these are??

[jcribb16]

OK here's a weird one:

Two of these were in MY BACK YARD today....(? ? ?)

They weren't really big, but they weren't small either. Their heads were a really pretty color, like a blueish-purple. 

After determining that I was NOT hallucinating and/or losing my mind, I did some searching on the internet to find out what the heck they were (it took a while too, as all I could do was put in descriptions of what they looked like!)

     

They didn't stick around very long, and after figuring out what they were, I assume that they were young ones, just
out exploring.  (Out from WHERE, I have no idea.....no-one seems to know of anyone around here who owns any of these).


Does anyone know what these are??

I'm not really sure, but they are very similar to an ostrich.  Maybe "children" roaming?  It's really late but I would like to check more into this tomorrow (or rather, later today, Thursday, lol) with some of my bird books.  I study birds and journal about them (as a hobby) and have some great books I can look through.  Unless someone else figures them out first, I'll be back!!!

[CharmedPhoenix]

OK here's a weird one:

Two of these were in MY BACK YARD today....(? ? ?)

They weren't really big, but they weren't small either. Their heads were a really pretty color, like a blueish-purple. 

After determining that I was NOT hallucinating and/or losing my mind, I did some searching on the internet to find out what the heck they were (it took a while too, as all I could do was put in descriptions of what they looked like!)

     

They didn't stick around very long, and after figuring out what they were, I assume that they were young ones, just
out exploring.  (Out from WHERE, I have no idea.....no-one seems to know of anyone around here who owns any of these).


Does anyone know what these are??

That's easy, they're emus, from Australia.  We have some in the Rio Grande Zoo.  Look up Steve Irwin - the Crock Hunter and the Australian Zoo.  I've heard of ostrich farming, maybe they're raised for meat, eggs and feathers too. 

[jcribb16]

OK here's a weird one:

Two of these were in MY BACK YARD today....(? ? ?)

They weren't really big, but they weren't small either. Their heads were a really pretty color, like a blueish-purple. 

After determining that I was NOT hallucinating and/or losing my mind, I did some searching on the internet to find out what the heck they were (it took a while too, as all I could do was put in descriptions of what they looked like!)

     

They didn't stick around very long, and after figuring out what they were, I assume that they were young ones, just
out exploring.  (Out from WHERE, I have no idea.....no-one seems to know of anyone around here who owns any of these).


Does anyone know what these are??

That's easy, they're emus, from Australia.  We have some in the Rio Grande Zoo.  Look up Steve Irwin - the Crock Hunter and the Australian Zoo.  I've heard of ostrich farming, maybe they're raised for meat, eggs and feathers too. 

Great job!  Aren't most, in the U.S., anyway, mainly raised on farms?  Could those have gotten loose?  It would just seem odd to see them out and about like that. 

[lher0277]

i dont know about unicorns and dragons but i do believe in angels, those fish are great unusual creatures

[duroz]

Leafy Sea Dragon (Phycodurus eques)
Weedy Sea Dragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus)

These are just SO cool-looking and beautiful!!  Although I am totally against the idea of capturing one "as a pet", I can easily see what attracts people to them.

I remember someone mentioning to "not forget these" (the sea dragons) in an early post to this thread.....and so I (finally) did remember.

                            Leafy Sea Dragon


                               Weedy Sea Dragon


Sea dragons are some of the most ornately camouflaged creatures on the planet, perfectly outfitted to blend in with seaweed and kelp formations.

Found in the waters off south and east Australia, leafy/weedy sea dragons are closely related to seahorses and pipefish.

Leafy Sea Dragons grow to a length of about 14 inches, but the slightly larger Weedy Sea Dragon can grow up to 18 inches long.

Like sea horses, the males are responsible for childbearing, but instead of having a pouch, like sea horses, male sea dragons have a spongy "brood patch" on the underside of their tail.  The females deposit their bright-pink eggs during mating, and the eggs are fertilized during the transfer from the female to the male. The males incubate and carry the eggs to term, and release baby sea dragons into the water in about four to six weeks.

Sea dragons survive on tiny crustaceans. It is not known if they are preyed upon by other animals. However, they have been taken so frequently by divers (as pets) that their numbers shrank critically, and in the early 1990s, the Australian government placed a complete protection on both species.

Pollution and habitat loss have also hurt their numbers, and they are currently listed as near threatened.

Here are some more pics:

         LEAFIES:

   


         WEEDIES: