This is an all new genus of rodents. This rat type thing is the only know specimen of its kind, for it was found alone and dead.
It is quite large. It is the size of a domesticated house cat. It was only found because a weasel dropped it in the middle of the path. There are most likely more of its kind elsewhere in the Ande Mountains.
This is a quagga. It is a subspecies of zebra, and was hunted to extinction only a while ago.
This is a Makoi Giant Catfish! I never knew catfish could get that big.
Another huge catfish. It's called a Wel's Catfish. Believe it or not, but they get BIGGER than this!!!
This is a giant anteater. They use their long tongues to lap up ants and other little bugs. They also have a long bushy tail.
This is a chacoa. It is a pig-type thing, and I don't know much about it.
This is a manta ray. Some have "wing" spans of up to 40 feet! The things that you see under it are called remoras. They eat the parasites off of its belly.
This is a baobab tree. A baobab can get huge, and its center can get really fat. These are probably the strangest trees on Earth.
This is a horseshoe crab. These things are ancient, and have been here for way longer time than us.
This is a lesser hedgehog tenrec. Tenrecs are creatures from Madagascar. There are thirty species, from hedgehog to otter-like ones.
This is a tailless tenrec.
This is a hedgehog tenrec. Some are kept as pets, though it is discouraged, since it depletes the wild population.
This is a spiked tenrec. As you have noticed, tenrecs have filled in all of the niches that were empty in Madagascar.
This pudgy rat-looking thing is a Dobson's shrew tenrec.
The long-eared tenrec here looks suspiciously like a mouse, doesn't it?
This snake (a reticulated python) is most likely the largest one in the world. It is 48 feet 8 inches long and weighs 983 pounds. The next largest is 33 feet long and 402 pounds. Source: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3845750/
This is the giant Pacific octopus. Some of these creatures can grow to 600 pounds!!!
This weird squid has huge fins, indistinguishable jointed tentacles, and a small body. It was only discovered recently. Researchers think it is a juvenile form of a squid.
This is a goblin shark. It looks very strange on the outside and inside; its liver is 1/3 of its weight.
Up above is a dugong. They graze on sea grass. Unfortunately, they are highly endangered today. Only a few thousand are left. Like manatees, sailors often mistook them for mermaids.
The giant fish is an alligator gar. They have armor plate scales and huge, sharp teeth, creating a very scary fish.
Sorry if the picture is grainy; I couldn't find any better that I could use. So, anyway, the bird up there is a Roseate Spoonbill.
This is a white pelican. They can grow up to 6' from beak to tail. Their beaks have large pouches in them to carry fish. If you make their necks shorter and take off the pouch, they look like storks, don't they?
The fish above is an elephant fish. It has a tiny set of jaws on the end of its trunk, and I think it might be electrical, but I'm not sure.
This bird is called a hoatzin. They live in the Amazon, and the most interesting feature of these creatures is that the have claws on their wings for the first few weeks of their lives.
This is a nautilus. They are directly descended from ancient creatures (which means they are primitive). Of course, we are all descended from ancient creatures...