Features

Jeanette X · #1

This thread is about all the creatures of nature that are outright unpleasant. The ones that make us wince but are ultimately a neccessary part of the ecosystem and should be appreciated for the role they play. And then left on someones pillowcase.

The lamprey is the vampire of the aquatic world. Adult lampreys act as parasites on a large variety of fishes and sea mammals. They attach to the host using it their sucker mouths, which have very sharp teeth arranged in concentric circles. Once attached, the lamprey opens a wound onto the skin of the host using its rasping tongue, and then it feeds on blood and other bodily tissue. Some species can grow up to three feet long.

The hagfish eats marine worms and other invertebrates, and has been known to burrow into the bodies of dead and dying animals and eat them from the inside out. The hagfish can almost instantly secrete mass amounts of slime as defense mechanism. They can actually tie themselves into knots, which helps them to escape predators, clean of excess slime from their bodies, pull in food, and burrow into a carcass. They also sneeze to unclog their nostrils of their own slime. In Korea almost 5 million pounds of hagfish meat is consumed each year. Hagfish skin is also processed into "eelskin" products, such as wallets and purses.

Rongi · #2

Ugh...

I hate lampreys and hag fishes. I honestly can't stand the ugly little bastards.

Cybernetico · #3

An animal topic isn't an animal topic without

SOPHIE!

PS. those are some cute little critters :/

Rongi · #4

That is a rather ugly dog...

HickMan · #5

Cybernetico · #6

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rongi

That is a rather ugly dog...

You must be blind or something. Sophie is easily the cutest dog I've ever laid eyes upon. I'ts just a bad shot, or something O_o

Rongi · #7

Hey, you're the one posting her picture in an ugly animal thread.

HickMan · #8

www.mrwinkle.com this is the strangest dog ever.

Cybernetico · #9

Quote:

Originally Posted by HickMan

www.mrwinkle.com this is the strangest dog ever.

HOLY CRAP THAT THING IS UGLY

But on the other hand, the dog is actually pretty cute

FS · #10

It's so strange, I want Cybernetico to die, and he's just not dying. Maybe I've been a bad boy this year.

UnDeath · #11

ah, shit. Sorry FS, I'll get on that right away. Ya know..... tips are appreciated.

Cybernetico · #12

Quote:

Originally Posted by FS

It's so strange, I want Cybernetico to die, and he's just not dying. Maybe I've been a bad boy this year.

What did I do now?

Rongi · #13

Good god man...are you this dense? Is there anything in that cavity in your skull?

UnDeath · #14

oh, dont take it personally. Its business, ya know.

Jeanette X · #15

AHEM! Back to creepy things!

Centipedes.

kellychaos · #16

Ugly animals ROCK! Spiders next, please.

Jeanette X · #17

This...thing is called an Argiope Bruennichi. It is found in Europe.

This is a sun spider.

Hobo Spider.

Purse web spider. Almost beetle-like, isn't it? It belongs to a suborder callled Orthognatha, or primitive spiders.

Lady-bird spider. So named because of it's resembalence to a lady-bird (ladybug).

Spitting spider. So named because it spits a poisonous silken substance over its prey.

Lynx spider. Look at those barbs!

Please note: These pictures are mostly close-ups. These spiders really no where near as big as these photos would make them seem.
Thank God.

Spiders terrify me. I know its irrational, but dear God, I can't stand them. My phobia is rather embarrasing, especially because I strive to understand and appreciate nature in its fullest, including the unpleasant parts. I know that most of them are harmless but...

But I suppose this thread might help me to get over my fears. Perhaps someday I might even...pick one up.

Sethomas · #18

I was once exploring a cave on my late great-grandmother's property. I wriggled myself into a small cavern and turned on a flashlight to find the wall itself practically crawling, as its entire surface area was covered with cave spiders. I knew that if I bore any adverse reaction, my sister would go in hysterics.

That's how I got over my fear of spiders.

Kitty of Doom · #19

Your thread is giving me nightmares

Once when I was at a zoo, there was display of walking stick insects and they were huge, about 8 or 9 inches long. I still get freaked out just thinking about it.

Anonymous · #20

right now our apartment has become infested with those damn centipedes (but the house ones with the really long legs).
I am going to vacuum a bunch today in a pathetic attempt to save myself

HickMan · #21

God speed Doopa. God speed.

Ninjavenom · #22

Spiders make me scream like a preteen girl. They wig me the fuck out.

Spectre X · #23

Spiders are fucking cool.

What you should be watching out for are Box jellyfishes. They're the most venomous creature in the seas according to the Discovery channel, which is complete bullshit, since the most poisenous creature in the seas, and even WORLD is the stonefish.

anyways, back to the jellyfish, they're about 30 foot long and you dies within a couple of minutes because of paralisis, while enduring the worst pain in the entire world.

Jeanette X · #24

Eeek. Re, you poor thing. My sympathies.

Leech sucking on a human.

Scorpion.

Stick insect. Ready to drop onto Kitty's head.

Pet stick insects. What is wrong with these people?

Horseshoe crab on its back. One time, some marine expert came to my elementry school with one. He turned it over it had all thes little legs kicking in the air. It was fucking creepy.