RAREST ANIMALS IN THE WORLD

PINK FAIRY ARMADILLO

Pink fairy armadillos have small eyes, silky yellowish white fur, and a flexible dorsal shell that is solely attached to its body by a thin dorsal membrane. In addition, its spatula-shaped tail protrudes from a vertical plate at the blunt rear of its shell. This creature exhibits nocturnal and solitary habits and has a diet that is mainly composed of insects, worms, snails, and various plant parts.

Unfortunately, the conservation status for pink fairy armadillo is still uncertain, and it is listed as Data Deficient by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

AYE-AYE

It is the world’s largest nocturnal primate, and is characterized by its unusual method of finding food; it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws holes in the wood using its forward slanting incisors to create a small hole in which it inserts its narrow middle finger to pull the grubs out. This foraging method is called percussive foraging which takes up 5-41% of foraging time. The only other animal species known to find food in this way is the striped possum. From an ecological point of view the aye-aye fills the niche of a woodpecker, as it is capable of penetrating wood to extract the invertebrates within.

The aye-aye is the only extant member of the genus Daubentonia and family Daubentoniidae. It is currently classified as Endangered by the IUCN; and a second species, Daubentonia robusta, appears to have become extinct at some point within the last 1000 years.

THE MANED WOLF

This mammal is found in open and semi-open habitats, especially grasslands with scattered bushes and trees, in south, central-west, and southeastern Brazil , Federal District, and recently, Rio Grande do Sul), Paraguay, northern Argentina, Bolivia east and north of the Andes, and far southeastern Peru (Pampas del Heath only).It is very rare in Uruguay, possibly being displaced completely through loss of habitat. IUCN lists it as near threatened, while it is considered a vulnerable species by the Brazilian government.

TUFTED DEER

The tufted deer  is a small species of deer characterized by a prominent tuft of black hair on its forehead and fang-like canines for the males. It is a close relative of the muntjac, living somewhat further north over a wide area of central China northeastern Myanmar and have been recently seen in Afghanistan after it last appearance 60 years ago. Although suffering from overhunting and habitat loss, this deer is not considered to be endangered. It is the only member of the genus Elaphodus. It is restricted to forested mountain habitat up to 4500 m above sea level, making study difficult.

DUMBO OCTOPUS

Grimpoteuthis is a genus of pelagic umbrella octopus that live in the deep sea. Prominent ear-like fins protrude from the mantle just above their lateral eyes. They have a U or V shaped shell in their mantle which gives them a bell shaped appearance. Some species are short, squat and yellow, while others resemble a jellyfish with one big brown walking shoe[clarification needed. Some have suckers, in addition to spines, on all 8 webbed arms while others look like a regular octopus with the addition of blue or other coloured “ears”. These octopuses are commonly nicknamed “Dumbo octopuses” or “Dumbo octopods” in reference to how the ear-like fins protruding from the top of their head-like bodies resemble the ears of Walt Disney’s flying elephant Dumbo. There are at least 13 species recognized in the genus, each having a different aspect from all the others. These features could be larger ears or different colours. As these animals live at the bottom of the sea they have a very small food supply. Prey include crustaceans, bivalves, worms and copepods.The average life span of various Grimpoteuthis species is 3 to 5 years.

PATAGONIAN MARA

The Patagonian mara is found only in Argentina. It ranges from 28ºS to 50ºS. Maras prefer to live in habitats with lots of shrub cover. However they also inhabit overgrazed and barren soils in the Monte Desert biome.In northwestern Argentina the mara primarily inhabits lowland habitats like forest and creosote bush or larrea. Maras prefer sandy and low shrub habitat in Valdes Peninsula.It has adapted well to a cursorial lifestyle on the open plains and steppe, with its long legs, reduced clavicle and well-developed sensory organs making it capable of running and communicating in these open habitats.

NAKED MOLE RAT

The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber), also known as the sand puppy or desert mole rat, is a burrowing blesmol native to parts of East Africa and is the only species currently classified in the genus Heterocephalus. The naked mole-rat and the Damaraland mole-rat are the only known eusocial mammals. It has a highly unusual set of physical traits that enable it to thrive in an otherwise harsh underground environment; it is the only mammalian thermoconformer.

The mole rat lacks pain sensitivity in its skin, and has very low metabolic and respiratory rates. While traditionally considered to belong to the same family as other African mole-rats, the Bathyergidae, more recent investigation suggests that the naked mole-rat is sufficiently divergent to be placed in a new, separate family, Heterocephalidae. The mole rat is also remarkable for its longevity and its resistance to cancer.

IRRAWADDY DOLPHIN

One of the earliest recorded descriptions of the Irrawaddy dolphin was by Sir Richard Owen in 1866 based on a specimen found in 1852, in the harbour of Visakhapatnam on the east coast of India. It is one of two species in its genus. It has sometimes been listed variously in a family containing just itself and in Monodontidae and in Delphinapteridae. There is now widespread agreement to list it in the family Delphinidae.

Genetically, the Irrawaddy dolphin is closely related to the killer whale (orca). It is also closely related to the Australian snubfin dolphin, and these two were only recently recognised as distinct species. The species name brevirostris comes from the Latin meaning short-beaked. In 2005, genetic analysis showed the Australian snubfin dolphin found at the coast of northern Australia forms a second species in the Orcaella genus.

THE GERENUK

The gerenuk also known as the Waller’s gazelle, is a long-necked species of antelope found in dry thorn shrubland and desert in the Horn of Africa and the African Great Lakes region. The word gerenuk comes from the word in the Somali language, Garanuug, meaning “giraffe-necked”. Gerenuk are sometimes also called the giraffe-necked antelope. It is the sole member of the genus Litocranius.

The gerenuk was first described by Anglo-Irish naturalist Victor Brooke in 1878. Its scientific name is Litocranius walleri. It is the sole member of the genus Litocranius, and is placed in the family Bovidae. In 1997, Colin Groves had proposed that Litocranius is a sister taxon of Ammodorcas, but reverted from this in 2000.

DUGONG

The dugong  is a medium-sized marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), was hunted to extinction in the 18th century. The dugong is the only strictly marine herbivorous mammal.

The dugong is the only sirenian in its range, which spans the waters of some 40 countries and territories throughout the Indo-West Pacific. The dugong is largely dependent on seagrass communities for subsistence and is thus restricted to the coastal habitats which support seagrass meadows, with the largest dugong concentrations typically occurring in wide, shallow, protected areas such as bays, mangrove channels, the waters of large inshore islands and inter-reefal waters. The northern waters of Australia between Shark Bay and Moreton Bay are believed to be the dugong’s contemporary stronghold.

 

 

 

WORLD’S OLDEST ANIMALS

THE WORLD’S OLDEST KNOWN ANIMAL

At 507 years old, Ming the clam lived a lengthy, if somewhat unremarkable, life. However, he could have lived even longer if scientists hadn’t discovered him. Unfortunately, their calculations of Ming’s age weren’t possible without cracking open the clam’s shell, so researchers didn’t realize they were in possession of what was likely the world’s oldest living animal – until they had already killed it.

One good thing came out of Ming’s demise – his shell can provide scientists with unique insights into the changes of sea temperatures over the last 500 years and can possibly unlock the secret to aging.

THE OLDEST TORTOISE

Tortoises are known for their longevity, but a tortoise living in India’s Alipore Zoo set a record that won’t soon be broken – surviving for 250 years. (To put things in perspective, that’s older than the government of the United States of America!)

Adwaita’s life began in the 1700s, when he was captured in the Seychelles Islands before being given to British general Robert Clive of the East India Company. Clive kept Adwaita as a pet before the tortoise was donated to the zoo in 1875. For more than 125 years, it lived in the same zoo enclosure until it passed away in 2006. Adwaita’s shell was then carbon dated to confirm his age.

THE OLDEST LIVING LAND ANIMAL

There are corals known to live for thousands of years, and bowhead whales are estimated to live for centuries, but land animals rarely have such lengthy life spans. The current record holder for the longest currently living terrestrial animal goes to a tortoise named Jonathan.

Also from the Seychelles Islands, Jonathan was brought from his island home in 1882 and continues to live at the official residence of the Governor of Saint Helena. A black and white photo from a collection of Bowe War images shows the tortoise in the year 1900. At 182 years old and counting, it’s unlikely any humans will beat his record any time soon.

THE OLDEST CAT

The world’s oldest living cat, Tiffany Two  died earlier in 2015 at the age of 27 and Guinness still hasn’t verified a successor for the oldest living cat title. But 27 years is nothing compared to the oldest cat of all time, who lived to be 38.

Cream Puff lived in Austin, TX with her owner, Jake Perry, and another cat named Granpa. At the time he died, Granpa held the world’s oldest cat title, but once Cream Puff lived past 34 years, she took the title. Since two of the world’s oldest cats belonged to the same person, many claim Perry’s unusual choice of foods (which included bacon, eggs, asparagus and broccoli) is what helped his felines survive so long.

THE OLDEST DOG

So far there are no confirmed reports of a dog living to the age of 30, but Max came pretty darn close at 29 years and 282 days. The cute beagle/daschund/terrier mix was born in 1983 and adopted soon after by his long-term owner, Janelle Derouen. Veterinary records proved Derouen’s claim and for now, Max holds the the title for world’s oldest dog.

THE OLDEST HORSE

(c) Warrington Museum & Art Gallery; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation

Born in 1760, Old Billy lived to an impressive sixty two years old, more than twice as long as the average horse’s life span. Billy didn’t live a life of leisure either – he spent most of his life as a barge horse. As he started to age, his back was bent and his bones started protruding through his skin. Regardless, he became a bit of a local celebrity – he was depicted in a lithograph at the age of 60 and also painted by an artist named W. Taylor.

Billy was said to be a cob horse and had a brown coat with a distinctive white blaze. After his death, his skull was split in two, with one half taxidermied and the other left bare. The two halves of his skull are now on display in the Manchester Museum and the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery & Bedford Museum.

THE OLDEST ELEPHANT

If an elephant never forgets, then Lin Wang had a whole lot of stuff to remember. While the average life span of an elephant is around 50, Lin Wang survived to the ripe old age of 86 before passing away in 2003.

During World War II, the Japanese used elephants to transport supplies and pull large artillery pieces. Lin Wang was captured from a Japanese camp in 1943 and used to support the Chinese Expeditionary Force for the rest of the war. In 1952, Lin Wang was donated to the Taipei Zoo, where he was introduced to his lifelong mate, Malan. He became the most famous attraction at the zoo and was fondly called “Grandpa Lin Wang” by visitors. When he died in 2003, his memorial service lasted for weeks and attracted tens of thousands of visitors.

THE OLDEST LIZARD

The tuatara is known for its longevity, regularly living over 100 years. The oldest documented tuarara is a resident in the Southland Museum of New Zealand. He is currently 117 years old has and recently fathered his first brood of babies at the tender age of 111.

THE OLDEST KOI

Perhaps one of the oldest fish on earth, Hanako lived to a ripe old age of 226. The scarlet koi died in 1977 and scientists used the rings on her scales to accurately estimate her age. They discovered that the beautiful and beloved pet fish was born before the United States was founded.

THE OLDEST GOLDFISH

Most goldfish won by children at local fairs end up floating in their bowl within a month or two, but Goldie was special – she surviving an amazing 45 years after being given as a prize to Pauline Evans’ mother in 1960. When Pauline’s parents died in the late 90’s, she inherited the fish and continued to care for it until Goldie finally passed on in 2005.

Goldie adopted the title of oldest fish when he outlived Tish from North Yorkshire, who died at 43. Unfortunately, since there were no records documenting when either fish was acquired, both Tish and Goldie remain unofficial title holders as Guinness could not verify their ages.