ZooWeird 41

A doggerel series about odd or little-known animals.

It's been more than 60 years after the last confirmed sighting of the Kashmir musk deer in Afganistan, a strange deer with vampire-like fangs native to Afghanistan, Republic of India, and Pakistan. Now, a new study appearing in the latest edition of the journal Oryx reveals that the Kashmir musk deer (Moschus cupreus) still persists in the rugged forested slopes of northeast Afghanistan. The research was led by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which confirmed the species’ presence during recent surveys. (All animal info from

http://www.strangeanimals.info/2014/11/kashmir-musk-deer.html#ixzz4V6AHa0GH)

A deer who’s got some vampire fangs!

What’s next? A werewolf wearing bangs?

I wonder if that buck named John

Will get the hots for Bella Swan?

ZooWeird 40

A doggerel series about odd or little-known animals.

The Japanese spider crab is a gigantic marine crab and one of the world's largest arthropods, holding the record for largest leg span. The heaviest ever reported specimen was 19 kg (~42 lb), making it also the second heaviest arthropod. The heaviest is the American lobster (Homarus americanus). The species is primarily found off the southern coasts of the Japanese island of Honshū, from Tokyo Bay to Kagoshima Prefecture. Some populations have also been found in Iwate Prefecture and off Su-ao in Taiwan. Adults occur at depths ranging from 50 to 600 m (~165-1970 ft). (All animal info from  http://www.strangeanimals.info/2011/01/japanese-spider-crab.html#ixzz4V0HxBNVG)

A spider crab—that’s quite a name,

A name that causes fear—and fame.

I wonder if the spider part

In dominant? Because he’s smart

With webs and stuff? Or is it “crab”

That means the most (oh, just a stab

At understanding). A spider that

Complains a lot? A grumpy cat?

Well—not a cat, no feline thing.

(A dude that wears a lot of bling.)

The more I’ve thought, the more I’ve mused,

The more completely I’m confused!

ZooWeird 39

A doggerel series about odd or little-known animals.

Meet the Indian purple frog, an endangered and odd-looking species of frog from the mountains of India’s Western Ghats. The species was formally described only in 2003, although there was a lot of anecdotal evidence surrounding its existence. Other than its weird spherical looks, the pig-nosed frog also has a very unique and unusual burrowing lifestyle. Initially believed to be restricted to the south of the Palghat Gap in the Western Ghats, the frog, additional research has revealed, exists farther north of the gap. Today, the pig-nosed frog is known to be distributed in the Western Ghats, ranging from the Camel's Hump Hill Range in the north, all the way to the northernmost portions of the Agasthyamalai Hill Range in the south. (All animal info from http://www.strangeanimals.info/2014/09/indian-purple-frog-pignosed-frog.html#ixzz4UuTHI59c)

How bad is that? A pig-nosed frog!

The dude could prob’ly use some grog

To have to bear that name in life:
How could he ever find a wife?

I mean, a woman introduced

To some guy seeming to be juiced

And having “pig-nosed” as his name?

The marriage prospects? Very lame.

Oh, not a pleasant sort of gig

To lug around the name of pig!

ZooWeird 38

A doggerel series about odd or little-known animals.

Despite their name, we have yet to discover a millipede species that has one thousand legs. However, the rare Illacme plenipes comes very close to this number, with one recorded specimen having an amazing 750 legs. The species has been found only in a patch of grassy oak woodlands, spanning about 1.7 square miles near Oakland and Berkeley, California. (All animal info from http://www.strangeanimals.info/2014/04/Illacme-plenipes.html#ixzz4UobKcQR4D)

He has a name you can’t pronounce—

So many legs you cannot count.

He cannot fly or swim or pounce

Or calculate some small amount.

But—oh!—those legs! Those many feet!

So though we look at him askance,

This little dude can keep a beat—

And—oh!—you oughta see him dance!

ZooWeird 37

A doggerel series about odd or little-known animals.

The Crucifix Toad is an Australian, odd-looking fossorial (adapted for digging) frog and one of the few Australian frogs to exhibit aposematism (having markings that warn or repel predators). It is named after the cross on its back. The holy cross frog occurs in central inland New South Wales and the interior of southern Queensland, west of the Great Dividing Range. The species occupies an area of approximately 615,000 km². The species is ground-dwelling and prefers arid areas. (All animal info from  http://www.strangeanimals.info/2015/01/crucifix-frog.html#ixzz4Uijk7JC1)

“You’ve got a ‘cross’ to bear, I see,”

The toad joked to the frog.

“That’s really so original,”

Frog croaked there in the bog.

“I hear that many times a day—

From creatures small and great,

Today, you are the thousandth, so

It’s you I really hate!”

The toad hopped off in some despair—

His sense of humor lost.

And thus he learned to calculate

How much sarcasms cost.

ZooWeird 36

A doggerel series about odd or little-known animals.

The Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules) is the most famous and the largest of the rhinoceros beetles. Native to the rain-forests of Central America, South America, and the Lesser Antilles, it is also one of the largest beetles we know, with adults growing up to 17 cm (6.5 in) in length. (All animal info from

http://www.strangeanimals.info/2016/11/weirdest-insects.html#ixzz4Ucu85eDW)

A beetle named for Hercules?

(Can this be true at all? Oh, please!)

Okay, we’re talking in degrees?

In beetle-world he’s big and strong,

But he would not survive too long

In other worlds—like Famous Song?

Where Beatles have remained a force—

Though two of them are dead, of course,

For which we all feel deep remorse.

Our names don’t always make much sense—

At times they seem a little dense:

A little thing we call immense!

(It's all relative, I guess—
And relatives can be a mess!)

ZooWeird 35

A doggerel series about odd or little-known animals.

Nicknamed as the “hammerhead slug” due to its half-moon shaped head, Bipalium kewense is not your everyday flat worm. Not only does it hold the record for world’s largest flatworm, but it’s also one of the few flatworms that live on land. Oh, did I mention that it defecates from its mouth? The hammerhead slug is believed to originate from Southeast Asia. However, it appears that the species has become cosmopolitan with recordings coming from many different tropical and subtropical countries. It’s especially common in greenhouses, thus its second common name, the “greenhouse planarian.” All animal info from

http://www.strangeanimals.info/2014/11/hammerhead-slug-worlds-largest-flatworm.html#ixzz4UYRGvW7f

His head had once been very round—

As round a head as could be found.

But then his language! Potty-mouth!

So soon his life went very south.

His dad attacked him with a tool—

A hammer!—took that dude to school.

And so his head became so flat

They used it for a welcome mat.

But here’s a bit of crazy news:
When people used him, wiped their shoes

Upon his head there on the stoop?

They somehow added chunks of poop!