Most Bizarre Creatures to Ever Exist

Life on Earth has produced some seriously strange beasts. Across the 3.7 billion years that our big blue home has been home to life, it’s seen some utter freaks of Nature. So, from outlandish creatures you’ll be sad are extinct to horrifying monsters you’ll wish were long gone, let's discuss some of the most bizarre creatures to ever exist!

Anisodon, The Gorilla-Horse

While it sounds unsettling, there used to be a horse-gorilla hybrid out there. Thankfully though, we missed them by a few million years! Anisodon, known previously as Chalicotherium grande, was a prehistoric mammal with a hulking horse slash gorilla-like body.

Those beasties weighed almost as much as a modern cow and stood around 6 feet tall! Active during the late Miocene period between 5 and 23 million years ago, that family of freaks were native to Europe, where they bumbled around grazing on vegetation. Anisodon had short back legs with hooves like a modern horse, but long, strong forearms like a gorilla.

Rather than hooves, the arms ended with sharp claws that were folded inwards while it walked, so it walked on its knuckles like an ape. It was a literal knuckle dragger! With size, strength and power, there was very little that could threaten that creature in its hey-day. Indeed, it only went extinct at the beginning of the Pliocene period due to the deadly combo of new, more efficient predators and climate change.

Saccorhytus, The Creature With A Mouth But No Anus

Brace yourself, because this next creature is Saccorhytus, an early Cambrian era thing with a big mouth and no anus. It’s thought that this creature both fed and excreted from the same hole. Thankfully, Saccorhytus were only a little over a millimeter, so you wouldn’t have got a good look at that terrifying face. Then again, they lived on the seafloor, so even if they were around today you’d be hard pressed to even find them.

The actual lifestyle of the Saccorhytus is shrouded in mystery. Scientists believed that it was our oldest ancestor at one point! Don’t worry, we aren’t actually related to that handsome fella, it’s more likely that it was an early ancestor of crabs and spiders than humans. It seems the unsettling bean beast was most likely a predator using its spikes to help it capture prey. Considering it lived some 500 million years ago, its diet remains a mystery.

Opabinia, The Cambrian Alien

In the ancient seas of the mid-Cambrian era swam a creature so peculiar that it defied classification for years. Five mushroom shaped eyes, a backwards facing mouth, and a segmented trunk with a claw at the end. Meet the Opabinia, a 2.8-inch long mistake of nature.

It’s theorized that that soft bodied sea critter was a bottom feeder. So, it may have swum around the ocean floor using that clawed trunk to pick up small prey like worms and bring them to its mouth. While scientists still debate the classification of Opabinia, the current thinking is that it was a very early ancestor to arthropods, the group that insects and crustaceans belong to.

You can’t really blame the experts for not knowing where to place that thing. Infamously, when the species was first described in a presentation in 1975 it was met with hysterical laughter from scientists. The Opabinia probably went extinct at the end of the Cambrian era because of environmental changes, depriving the world of one of its most confusing critters.

Eretmorhipis, The Reptile Platypus

The Triassic period may as well be known as the era of the odd. After a colossal extinction known as “the Great Dying” some 252 million years ago, much of life had to essentially start from scratch leading to some crazy experiments by Mother Nature.

One of those experiments was the Eretmorhipis, a strange marine reptile that had a long lizard like body, flippers like a seal, and a bill like a platypus. As if that wasn’t weird enough, its back was adorned with Stegosaurus-like plates and it had a small head with tiny little eyes. It's hard to stress how utterly bizarre that creature was.

Despite its flippers, it was probably a poor swimmer due to its long, bony body and terrible eyesight. And at just 28 inches, it wasn’t exactly intimidating. Safe to say, if that thing existed in any other era, it’d never have survived, but luckily for our billed bud it lived in the Triassic. There was very little competition in that post-mass extinction world and every niche was up for grabs.

So, what did it do to survive given how much it sucked? Like modern platypuses, Eretmorhipis had a large hole in the middle of its bill. Platypuses house special receptors there that allow them to hunt in poor visibility by detecting their prey’s movement and any small electrical signals their muscles give off when they contract. So, it’s likely that prehistoric reptile did the same!

Ottoia, The Worm That Terrorised The Prehistoric Oceans

The seas of the mid-Cambrian period were full of disgusting creatures such as Ottoia, the grotesque worm in the image below. A burrowing, carnivorous beast that snatched unfortunate prey using its freaky tube mouth. Thankfully, those creatures weren’t the huge sci-fi monsters you might imagine, at just 6 inches long.

The horrific animal is actually an ancient ancestor of modern day priapulid worms, which are also known by a more phallic name. To hunt, Ottoia would dig a U-shaped burrow on the seafloor and hide inside with its head peeking out. Then, when prey wandered too close, it would extend its proboscis, which is that terrible tube!

Using the tube of doom, our grotesque friend would grab the unsuspecting morsel and drag it toward its mouth before swallowing it headfirst. But Ottoia wasn’t fussy, it’d happily scavenge on leftovers if need be. It’d even engage in cannibalism if food was super scarce, a trait shared by modern priapulid worms.

Eulagisca Gigantea, The Antarctic Scale Worm

Lurking a dizzying 2,000 feet below the surface of the Antarctic Ocean right now, the Antarctic scale worm is a predatory deep-sea creature that gets its name from those horrific tooth-like scales covering its body. Not that they’re the most horrific part of that creature. That goes to its head, which is actually a retractable proboscis that the scale worm can unfurl like something out of Alien.

It’ll extend that proboscis and use it to grab any unfortunate prey that comes near before tearing it apart with those sharp mouthparts. Sounds a lot like Ottoia, but unlike Ottoia, scale worms have those bizarre golden bristles running along their bodies. They’re called chaete and they help propel the abominable animals through the water as well as bury them within the sediment to wait for prey.

What’s worse, at 8 inches long, they’re about the same size as a rat! We actually know frighteningly little else about those sea demons though. Their extreme habitat makes it tricky for researchers to study them. Good riddance, let them stay down there!

Dimorphodon

Pterosaurs are iconic prehistoric beasts. Those super impressive reptiles evolved the power of flight and were prevalent throughout the reign of the dinosaurs. But some of them were a little less impressive and a little more improbable, such as the Dimorphodon.

Despite sounding like a Transformer, that unusual looking creature was a pterosaur from the early Jurassic period, about 200 to 145 millions year ago. Unlike other pterosaurs, Dimorphodons had massively oversized heads that took up almost a third of their 3.3-foot length.

Because of that, scientists reckon they may not have been very skilled flyers. Their big heads plus a relatively short wingspan meant rather than flying for long distances, they likely relied on short bursts of airtime from tree to tree. They were probably great climbers and could walk competently on the ground, but that’s not so impressive compared to flying!

Native to what’s now North America and Europe, Dimorphodon would’ve snapped up small vertebrates, insects, and whatever carrion it came across. Using its huge eyes, it would’ve been able to spy potential prey from high up in the treetops. And when it saw something, it’d soar down and snatch it using its specialized jaw.

Dimorphodon means “two-formed tooth.” At the top of its mouth sat long teeth with serrated edges, probably designed for catching prey. At the bottom were shorter ones for grinding it up into goo. Impressive, but we shouldn’t tell him so it might give him an even bigger head!

Platybelodon, The Elephant With A Spork Mouth

Nature experimented a whole lot before it struck gold with the elephant. Its many prehistoric counterparts were outlandish to say the least. Backwards facing tusks, quadruple speared ones, the design was clearly a work in progress. But the strangest of all was probably the Platybelodon, an elephant with a giant spork mouth.

The shovel faced mammal lived during the mid Miocene era in Africa, Asia, North America and the Caucasus, and was a tad smaller than modern elephants. Platybelodons reached 10 feet tall and weighed up to 3 tons whereas African bush elephants can reach 24 feet and weigh 7 tons.

Ichthyosaurs, The Giant Lizard Fish

The Triassic era saw the birth of the ichthyosaurs, freaky prehistoric reptiles that looked like giant lizard fish. Those marine menaces had the largest eyes ever recorded in the animal kingdom, at an astonishing 10 inches wide, almost double that of a blue whale! That meant they were excellent at seeking out prey like squids.

There were over 100 species of ichthyosaur, but the craziest were those belonging to the Shastasaurus genus because they were absolutely enormous. We don’t know the exact size of our reptilian friend, there are only limited fossil remains left. But scaling estimates show us that it could’ve reached a seriously intimidating 69 feet long. That’s bigger than a cricket pitch! Even though that still doesn’t measure up to the blue whale’s max length of 98 feet, but it’s still scarily big!

Deinocheirus, The Giant Dinosaur with Hands

In 1965, a research team in Mongolia discovered the horrifying fossil in the image below. At a mind blowing eight feet long, those are the biggest arms of any dinosaur ever found. To put that into context, that means each one is the same size as Robert Wadlow, the tallest man to have ever lived.

Naturally, people’s immediate thought was the arm bones belonged to some terrifying predatory monster. A nightmare carnivore that grabbed its prey and tore it apart with its bare hands. But the reality would prove even stranger. The bones actually belonged to something called a Deinocheirus. And it was the most outlandish dinosaur ever. That late Cretaceous omnivore stood 16 feet tall and was around 33 feet long, that’s longer than a London bus!

Covered in feathers, it sported a weird duck bill, lumpy hunchback, pot belly, and long neck. So, it wasn’t just huge, it was a huge goofball. Not that it cared, that big boy was so big that it only needed to worry about being hunted by massive Tyrannosaurs, nothing else could touch it! So what’s the deal with those arms? Deinocheirus probably fed on fish and vegetation so the long, clawed arms would’ve helped it dig and gather plants. Not exactly the monster it was originally thought to be then!

Stones found near where its digestive tract would’ve been suggest it swallowed them to grind the foliage in its gizzard, as well as strip the scales from fish. And that wide duck-like bill makes sense to help it catch said fish, the fat from which it may have stored in its hump in times of scarcity. So all those freaky features actually make a lot of sense!

Anomalocaris, The Abnormal Shrimp

Long ago, deep beneath the turbulent waves of the Cambrian era, swam a spine-chilling apex predator. With creepy grasping appendages, huge eyes, and a circular mouth filled with razor sharp teeth that was Anomalocaris, or the “abnormal shrimp”.

Initially, only one of the beast’s appendages was discovered, and scientists thought that they were looking at a strange species of prehistoric shrimp! Nowadays they’re more clued up, and we know that although Anomalocaris was an early arthropod, it wasn’t a shrimp at all.

For starters, a shrimp wouldn’t be able to bite your finger off! Once thought to have hunted trilobites on the sea floor, that thing probably actually preyed on soft bodied organisms like worms. It’d scoop up unsuspecting creatures using its grabby bits and place them directly in its mouth, where they’d be shredded.

Anomalocaris: Earth's First Predator by Pim D

Plus, the abnormal fella had some of the greatest eyesight ever known, bested only by the modern-day dragonfly! That incredible eyesight helped Anomalocaris become one of the first ever super predators, dominating the waters with 20/20 vision and deft speed.

That would’ve forced other creatures to adapt to survive, and probably helped kickstart the evolutionary arms race between predator and prey that would go on to shape life on Earth! It’s speculated that that pseudo-shrimp reached lengths of a little over a foot, not including its bendy appendages and tail. While that doesn’t sound that big, we’re talking half a billion years ago here, so it was one of the largest living things of the era!

Tanystropheus, The Triassic Reptile With A Long Neck

In the lawless world of the Triassic, where anything went no matter how stupid, lived Tanystropheus. Native to what is now Europe, The Middle East, and China, this unhinged looking reptile was around 20 feet long with almost half of that comprising of that colossal neck!

Scientists think Tanystropheus was semi aquatic, spending some of its life standing on the shoreline, sticking its big neck out like an amateur angler. The outrageously long neck meant it could reach far from shore to pluck fish without even having to get into the sea. The rest of its day to day was spent below the waves, getting up close and personal with its unfortunate quarry, prehistoric fish and squid.

The neck is a vulnerable spot for most animals. It’s one thing for a colossal, 40-foot tall dinosaur like a Brachiosaurus to have a long neck, it’s pretty safe considering it’s fricking huge. But on a much shorter animal like Tanystropheus, which stood barely 2 feet tall, the neck was a massive target.

Indeed, paleontologists have discovered several fossils with big bite marks taken out of the necks. And so, our overly long friend didn’t exactly prosper, it only lasted around 20 million years. That sounds like a lot, but in terms of a species’ longevity it definitely isn’t!

Red-Lipped Batfish

In the waters surrounding the Galapagos islands lives what can only be described as a goblin fish frog with kissy lips. This is the red-lipped batfish in the image below, and it’s super uncomfortable looking.

Those 10-inch long ghouls prefer to stick to the ocean floor, where they can walk about using leg-like flippers. If it ever does decide to swim, those flippers splay out to the sides like wings, and it slowly moves forward with an awkward wiggling motion. And as for that big honker, it isn’t actually a nose at all! In lieu of being able to chase its prey, it emits a sort of chemical lure from the fleshy stub which attracts shrimp, mollusks, and smaller fish for it to chow down on.

But what about the big red lips that gave that thing its name? What are they for? In truth, we don’t really know. Some researchers believe that those rosy smackers are used for attracting mates, but more work is needed to find the truth. All we know is that it makes them look simply dashing.

Basilosaurus, The “King Lizard”

Basilosaurus, meaning “king lizard” was one of the most terrifying reptiles to ever live and one of the deadliest predators of its era. A marine reptile, it scoured the oceans for prey during the age of the dinosaurs. But turns out the name “king lizard” is incredibly inaccurate!

Initially, Basilosaurus was misclassified. It was actually a mammal, the first whale to live entirely at sea. Whales or at least, their ancestors were once small furry land dwellers that spent a lot of time in and around water. Over millions of years, they slowly spent less and less time on dry land as they lost their fur and their claws turned to flippers.

On top of that, nutrient-rich waters enabled them to gain mass, growing in size substantially. Basilosaurus first appeared fully evolved in the middle Eocene period, where it was an apex predator. So, it was definitely a king, just not a lizard! Unsurprisingly, that ancient whale was huge. They could grow up to a whopping 59 feet in length and hunted sharks, large fish and even other prehistoric whales that followed them into the sea.

Unlike modern whales however, it wasn’t equipped for deeper waters, spending its time closer to the surface. Plus, for all its power and menace, it was probably a bit of a stupid. Its brain was small in comparison to its descendants, so it’s unlikely to have evolved the social capabilities of the whales and dolphins we know today.

Atopodentatus, The Hammerheaded Herbivore

The Atopodentatus was the very first marine reptile known to be herbivorous. However, the first things you'd probably notice about it are its 9-foot long wiggly body and its hammer shaped face! The peculiar shape is thought to have allowed Atopodentatus to effectively scrape algae and vegetation from the seabed using long rows of small, chisel like teeth.

After sucking up the grub, the teeth would act like a filter, allowing water to be pushed out of its mouth while keeping the food inside! Originally, researchers were convinced that guy looked even more abnormal. Rather than a hammer head, it was initially suggested that it had a more flamingo shaped one, with zipper like teeth running down the middle.

Turns out that wasn’t the case, the first Atopodentatus skull discovered had been crushed and deformed, giving a false impression. While it spent most of its life in the water, it was also perfectly capable of spending time on land, though it was in danger of getting eaten by large archosaurs! Truth be told, it didn’t fare much better in the seas either, it had no proper way of defending itself against ichthyosaurs. The species went extinct after just 7 million years.

Quetzalcoatlus, The Largest Flying Animal

A very impressive beast to take flight is the Quetzalcoatlus, the largest animal to ever take to the skies. At an utterly mind blowing 18 feet, that colossal pterosaur was around the same height as a giraffe. And its maximum wingspan is estimated at 36 feet, that’s about the same as a modern fighter jet. But that thing was able to fly without jet engines.

Due to its massive size, it’d need a jumping start but by hopping a casual 8 feet into the air its powerful wings could do the rest and get it airborne. The bird-like behemoth was around during the late Cretaceous era and hunted on the ground, swiping up small vertebrates such as baby dinosaurs as well as plucking fish and crustaceans from inland streams, like a humongous heron. Imagine having a giraffe sized reptile coming at you with that gargantuan beak!

If you were amazed at the most bizarre creatures to ever exist, you might want to read about animals that were scarier than dinosaurs! Thanks for reading.