Our beloved blue planet is unusual for a number of reasons. The most important of these reasons is that for many of us, certain homes in the universe are the only places we know for life. But on the thin layer of gas and liquid that surrounds our planet, life has developed in such dazzling forms that even today biologists find new species every day. Creatures thrive in the blazing sun of arid deserts, the crushing pressure of deep sea trenches, the icy wastes of Antarctica, and even within the rocks beneath our feet. The adaptations that allow this versatility have created species with some very extreme traits.
05. Blue Whale
Blue whales up to 109 feet long and 200 tons have been spotted. This puts the blue whale well ahead for the title of largest animal that ever lived. Other than a few possible theoretical species, no other known dinosaur even comes close to the size of this big guy.
04. Platypus
While it may not be the world's largest, fastest, or most impressive species, the little Australians known as platypuses (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) are certainly one of the most puzzling. The strange evolutionary forces that gave rise to this animal (it seems to love a good joke) have given it many characteristics you're unlikely to find outside of a biology textbook. As a mammal, it is warm-blooded and furry, but it is monotremous, meaning it lays eggs to reproduce. It has flat, webbed feet for wading, a duck-like body for a nose, and a flat beaver-like tail. In its bill, there are sensitive organs that can detect electrical signals in the muscles of fish swimming in water, sharp spurs that, in males, secrete a powerful, if not lethal, poison. True, it is also poisonous. Or rather, poisonous.
03. MRL Mouse
Have you seen movies? Some scientists work in a laboratory. Unbeknownst to them, mutations in the lab's experimental animals have changed some of the creatures, giving them strange new powers. Before the world is ready, on the unsuspecting population is thrown ... a little white mouse. A strain of white laboratory mouse known as the Murphy Roth's Large (or MRL) mouse was used for routine scientific experiments when this particular mouse was found to have the ability to not only heal but also regenerate from injuries inflicted on it. He was able to heal from injuries without any detectable scars, even regrowing toes, tails and even vital organs, including a destroyed or removed heart. Could this suggest that science could one day use this mouse to restore lost limbs and organs to injured humans? Stay with us.
02. Komodo Dragon
The monitor lizard, also known as Varanus komodoensis or the Komodo Dragon, is not only 10 feet long and weighs more than 150 pounds, making them the largest lizards today. It is not enough that they are wild, predatory carnivores that, although they usually feed on carrion, can ambush and bring down a water buffalo with their jagged teeth and huge claws. It is not enough to wash their toothy mouths with both venom and a soup of bacteria that almost always causes serious or fatal infection in bite wounds. If all that wasn't enough, females can lay live eggs even when no males are around. I am glad that they are only found on a few islands in Indonesia.
01. Ocean Quahog
Harvested for food in many parts of the North Atlantic, including Iceland, this humble little mussel-like shellfish, arctica islandica, doesn't look very impressive. It is even sometimes used to eat sushi and does not attract much attention. However, it has the distinction of being one of the longest-lived animals. It's hard to say how old they are on average, but at least one specimen was brought up from the depths that lived for more than 405 years. That is, until some biologist took it aloft and tested its lethal age. C'est la vie.
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