Have you ever heard of an creature , search for it online , and been completely foil by what you saw ? Sometimes the name sound fierce , strange , or downright misleading and it emphatically does n’t match the creature you pictured in your head . Well , we ’ve been there too ! That ’s why we determine to dive into the wonderfully weird naming scheme we homo have create for some of the unexpectedly named critter we partake in this satellite with .
Tarantula hawk
Have you seen such a horror - inducing quite a little ? With a metal blue body and strike orangish wings and antennae , this magnificent beast is the Lycosa tarentula hawk . As you could see , it is neither a tarantula nor a mortarboard – it is a stunningsolitary wasp .
Its name comes from its terrifyingly effective hunting method acting : hunt tarantulas . After mating , female WASP go on the hunt for a juicy - looking tarantula . The way they hunt down is as precise and predatory as a hawk ’s , which is how they earn the latter part of their misleading name .
Once they have identified a yummy - looking wanderer , they will go in for the sting , aiming for the tumid boldness ganglion to quickly paralyze the wanderer . Then , the wasp drags this incapacitated morsel to a nest and lays an egg on top of it . When the testis hatches , the larva begins run on the still - alive tarantula , using it as a alimental bite until it grows into an grownup .
Don’t let its name sting you!Image credit: Robert Briggs/Shutterstock.com
Guinea pig
A close fellow traveller for many multitude in childhood , these fluffy , mitt - sized creature also have an airwave of mystery : they are neither pigs nor from Guinea . These animals are , in fact , gnawer of the Caviidae kinsperson . The domesticated guinea pig bed belongs to the speciesCavia porcellus , and includes at least 13 recognise strain .
There are a few hypothesis about where the name “ guinea hog ” came from . Some hint the “ pig ” part comes from their “ hog - like ” phone , which resemble the grunts of pigs , or perhaps how their meat smack when roasted ( they are still considered adelicacyto this day ) . Others believe that the name originated from the darling be a dago in the 16th century , or from the porthole through which the animals could have been transport ( Guinea in West Africa or Guiana in South America ) .
These fauna are native to the Andes in South America , where they roam the region in herds and go in mathematical group . It isbelievedthat the Incas tame the guinea hog around 3,000 years ago , and Spanish adventurer later on brought them back to Europe as alien pets .
These creatures squeal with charm and are always wheeking their way into our hearts!Image credit: E. Speak/Shutterstock.com
So , as you stare through the metal barroom at your faithful companion , Baron Von Snuggles , remember they are far more cryptic than you may think .
Mountain chicken
Weighing in at a walloping 1 kilogram ( 2.2 pounds ) with the astonishing ability to jump over a stand human , this is a salientian – not a volaille – and it rise from the Caribbean . The name comes from its turgid sizing and its status as a delicacy in the Caribbean . Like many unfamiliar meats , it reportedly savour like chicken , which helped exalt the name .
The Mountain Chicken is alsocritically endangered . It was once far-flung across the Caribbean , however , by 2023 , only 21 were find out on the island of Dominica . This decay began in 2002 , when a deadly amphibian fungus come in the region and proceeded to extinguish populations , causing over 90 species to become out in just 50 days .
When it deal to keep off disease , predators , and military personnel - made destruction , this large amphibian can live up to 12 geezerhood in the natural state . Currently , many reintroduction course of study are work to restore the population to pre - fungus numbers . Mountain chickens are breed in captivity and released into the state of nature once the fungus has been eradicated from the area .
Don’t be fooled – it’s more ribbiting than clucking!Image credit: Derek D. Galon/Shutterstock.com
Mountain goat
This chonky , fluffy - bet creature is the mountain goat . It is not a true goat ; it just looks incredibly similar to one . Its right name is goat - antelope , which does not have quite the same ring to it as “ mountain laughingstock ” .
These herbivorous animals live many of North America ’s alpine environments , from Alaska to Utah . These creatures differ from true goats , as they do not edge brain ; instead , they stab each other with their horn . This also means that they are reluctant fighters , and the male have thick peel as armor against any attacks .
Often dead perched on a rocky outcrop , these agile and powerful brute can jump nearly 12 feet ( 3.66 meters ) in a single leap .
“High on a hill was a lonely goat.”Image credit: Don Fink/Shutterstock.com
Bearcat
Now , hold with us as we search the glorious fluffiness of an animal call thebinturong , which is native to South and Southeast Asia . It also has the common name of “ bearcat ” . This alone creature is neither a bear nor a bozo . However , if you squint , it does have a face like to a cat ’s , and the consistency does have a hint of a bear , but it is more intimately colligate to fossas or civet cat .
Bearcats are often recover obliterate away in the branch of trees and only make the long way down when they need to move to another tree .
The aroma theyemitis remindful of hot , pantry popcorn – a smell more intimate at the movie theatre . The more unpleasant face is that the smell itself descend from urine , which suggests it may be used as a territorial marker . This scent comes from a chemical chemical compound that is often found in real Zea mays everta .
With a name like bearcat, you’d expect this critter to be a purr-fect blend of fierce and fluffy – but it’s more of a bear-ly there mystery with a cat-like charm!Image credit: Vadim_N/Shutterstock.com
Vampire squid
The vampire squid is a " monster " that lives in the deep ocean . Currently , there are two species that have been find : Vampyroteuthis infernalis , reveal in 1903 , and morerecently , Vampyroteuthis pseudoinfernalis , which was find in the South China Sea .
These creatures are not vampiric , instead , they are scavenger that meander across the ocean deplete debris and marine nose candy . They are also not even squid , but are part of their own family : Vampyroteuthidae .
OriginallyV. infernaliswas believe to be a species of octopus , but it was reclassified . V. pseduoinfernaliswas described by the scientists that discovered it to be “ extensively jellylike ” . These two species disagree as the latter has a broad , elongated wing on the lower nozzle , a tail end , and light - get electronic organ in a dissimilar part of the body .
This creature’s name may have you batty with curiosity, but the vampire squid is more into snacking on plankton than haunting the oceans like a true undead.Image credit: Carl Chun (1903); NOAA Photo Library viaWikimedia Commons(Public Domain)
The fashion humans have named some animal is truly a wild drive . So next clip you discover a peculiar name , do n’t guess a critter by its cover – it might just be a bear - y unexpected surprise wait to bug out up in your next wildlife skirmish .
