The purple frog is a recently discovered frog species found in the Western Ghats in India. It spends most of its life underground and only comes out for mating during monsoon. Since it remains above land only for a few week, it has got scientific recognition so late even though locals have known it for a long time. Interestingly, the purple frog is the only surviving member of a group of amphibians which evolved 130 million years ago. Their diet mainly comprises of termites. They have touch-sensitive snout through which they seek out termites and suck them using a fluted tongue.(1,2)
The Promachoteuthis sulcus is a newly-discovered deep-sea squid possessing human-like mouth including teeth. These teeth are actually circular folded lips. Promachoteuthis sulcus uses razor-sharp beaks to chop and chew their prey. The beaks are located inside their mouth and are not visible from outside. These one inch long creatures have eight arms and two large tentacles. Today, there is only one specimen of this creature known to men. It was caught in 2007 by the German research vessel “Walther Herwig”. This specimen is an immature female Promachoteuthis sulcus which is only 25 mm long.(source)
Black Swallower is a deep-sea fish which has the amazing ability to consume fish that are much bigger than its size and more than 10 times its own mass. Black swallower itself is quite a small fish and its maximum known length is 25 cm. It possesses an expandable stomach due to which it can swallow large preys. Sometimes it swallows such a large creature that the prey starts to decompose before it can be digested. This releases gas in its stomach which forces the swallower to the surface of the ocean and that’s how most specimens have been collected. In 2007, a 7.5 inch Black Swallower was found dead in the coast of Cayman Islands with a 34-inch mackerel in its stomach.(source)
Although they are called flying lemur, they can neither fly nor are they lemur. They can only glide and leap among trees. Flying lemur has a gliding membrane which connects from neck and extends along the limb to tips of the fingers, toes, and nails. This membrane/skin is kite-shaped which helps it to glide from one tree to another. Currently, there are only two known living species of flying lemur. One is the Philippine flying lemur, and the other is the Sunda flying lemur. Both of these species are excellent climbers, but they are helpless on ground.(1,2)
The Saiga antelope is a species of antelope which is found in the vast Eurasian steppe zone. However, due to excessive hunting and habitat loss, it is now listed under Critically Endangered species on the IUCN Red List. The distinct feature of Saiga antelope is its bulbous nose which hangs over its mouth. Its nose is flexible and inflatable. This helps the saiga in breathing clean air during hot and dusty summer days and warm air during winter. During summer, the coat of Saiga is sparse and cinnamon-colored but during the winter, it becomes thick and white in color. Saiga is mainly hunted due to its horn which is used as the main ingredient in Chinese medicine.(1,2)
