Coolest Extant Species

[Top Trilo]

Yesterday I was doing some amphibian research and came across the caecilians (Gymnophiona). How had I not heard of one of the three living orders of amphibians? The others being Caudata (salamanders) and Anura (frogs and toads). I thought it was something worth sharing and then I thought there are a lot of extant species that are really cool so I created this thread so we can all see and share some of our favorite extant species. 

Starting off with the caecilians, a legless amphibian that lives underground in the tropical regions of the world. they come in many colors and the largest species can grow up to 5 feet (1.5 meters). Unlike worms they have a skeleton with vertebrae and a skull filled with small sharp teeth.

 

Caecilia attenuata

 

Very similar but not closely related to the next animal on this list, the legless lizard (Pygopodidae). They are found all throughout the world. They resemble snakes except for the lizard head. The largest species is the European Glass Lizard (Pseudopus apodus).

 

 

I have to include this dragon like lizard, the armadillo lizard. (Ouroborus cataphractus) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillo_girdled_lizard. They live in South Africa and curl in a ball when they are threatened.

 

That's all for the reptiles now lets look at the descendants of dinosaurs, my favorite bird, the Cassowary (Casuaurius). It looks prehistoric and being the third largest bird, behind ostrich and emu you cant miss its blue crested head. And their footprints look just like dinosaur footprints.

 

 

 

Next has to be the Lyre Bird (Menura novaehollandiae) The superb lyrebird. Not sure if the second video is real since it was not uploaded by BBC but it is really fascinating.

 

 

 

Next is a mammal, the Colugo (Cynocephalidae) It is a flying mammal and our not so distant relative seeing as we are both in the mirorder primatomorpha. 

 

Moving on to some smaller species. Ill start with the praying mantis. An order of insects that everyone should know seeing as they are found everywhere. (Mantodea) They come in several fascinating colors and patterns, just search some of the exotic species there are so many. Here are a few,

 

 

Next is the largest centipede Scolopendra_gigantea. They live in south america and can grow up to 30 cm (12 inches)

 

That's all I have for now, took like an hour to write this. Probably could of been quicker but I read some more about these fantastic species. Many of the species on this list may not ever fossilize or leave a very small record and things like what sound they make or what colors will not be preserved. Makes you wonder about what species existed that never fossilized or have not been found yet. Please add more species to this list I know there are others. Enjoy 

[JamieLynn]

 

[siteseer]

I have never seen a fossil caecilian but I have seen legless lizard fossils from the early Oligocene of Wyoming.  Years ago, there was a display of them at the Tate Museum in Casper, WY..

 

I have also seen a jaw section of a colugo-like mammal from the early Eocene of Wyoming.

 

One of the most interesting species is Sphenodon punctatus, the tuatara.  Like caecillians, it's a group you don't hear a lot about.  It looks like a big lizard but it belongs to a group with a separate evolutionary history.  Fossils of its relatives have been found all over the world.  A friend once showed me some fossils he had of them from the late Triassic of Arizona.  The tuatara is known only from a remote part of the world - offshore islands of New Zealand, having gone extinct on the main islands.

 

Jess

 

 

[jpc]

On 6/12/2021 at 11:21 PM, siteseer said:

I have never seen a fossil caecilian but I have seen legless lizard fossils from the early Oligocene of Wyoming.  Years ago, there was a display of them at the Tate Museum in Casper, WY..

 

 

 

 

We (Tate Museum) still have an amphisbaenid skull on display from the local White River Fm.  

[LabRatKing]

Back in the 70s and 80s it was not uncommon to find a North American amphisbaenid (AKA "Florida Worm Lizard") in the pots/root balls of trees and large tropical plants from various nurseries in Florida. Thankfully, stricter shipping regulations lessened these occurrences.

 

I think my favorite is a tie between extant orders Notostraca (the various species of Triops) and genus Brachinecta's Branchinecta gigas.

 

 

that is about as close to a living trilobite as one is going to get

[RuMert]

One of the curious species is Scutigera coleoptrata, house centipede. It's so fast, agile, big-eyed, overall so insectlike. Makes one think how we'd have 30-legged "insects" instead of 6-legged with a slight turn in evolution (something along the lines of 6-legged vertebrates from science fiction)

 

 

Edited June 18, 2021 by RuMert

[FossilNerd]

Being a little odd myself, I’ve always been drawn to the more unusual animals. There are some great examples here already, but one of my favorites since childhood has got to be the Pangolin. A cute little anteater with scales that can curl into a ball for protection. What’s not to love?  

Too bad that they are one of the most illegally trafficked animals in the world. Some cultures find their meat a delicacy and some believe that their scales can cure cancer or some such nonsense. That coupled with the loss of habitat has caused all species of Pangolin to end up on the threatened/endangered species lists. 

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangolin

 

 

 

[Yoda]

I have an interest in deep sea life. 

 

Vampyroteuthis infernalis must be the most amazing creature 

 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

[LabRatKing]

Another fun one that is rarely seen but actually common:

 

Mantis Flies AKA Mantid Flies

AKA Mantispids

these guys are actually in Neuroptera- the lacewings and such. Some plasmid as paper wasps. Thankfully these hardcore predators are really small.

 

They’ve been found in amber and lagerstratte.

 

Google them. These are really cool predators that make you glad you aren’t aphid sized!

 

Edited July 9, 2021 by LabRatKing

[Top Trilo]

Recently learned a new species, Urogymnus polylepis, the Giant Freshwater Stingray, which can grow up to 16.5 feet (5 meters) and have a diameter of 6.2 feet (2 meters) and weigh upwards of 1300 pounds (590 kilograms). They are found in southeast Asia.