11 Animals with Hilariously Silly (but Real) Names Molly Pennington, PhD ( courtecy;-reader's digest )

CULTURE

Get your silly on! You won’t believe these zany animals will wacky names that are totally true.

Zebroid

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You know how a zebra has stripes? Just imagine those black and white streaks across half the body of a regular equine creature. That’s what can happen when an animal is half-zebra and half-horse. People call these horsey creatures zebroids or zedonks or any zany merger of zebra and horse, mule, or donkey. How about a zorse, zony, or zonkey? Check out these adorable animals you didn’t know existed.

Mirror spider

Courtesy Robert Whyte

You won’t believe your eyes if you ever have the chance to see a mirror spider. Their torsos look like a stained-glass window. They’re also described as looking like disco balls, the little eight-legged dazzlers! Fans of arachnids will want to check out the most elaborate spider webs ever found in nature.

Glass frog

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The glass frog looks just like a regular frog from the top. But, when you flip it onto it’s back, prepare yourself for some silly wonders. Its skin becomes a translucent window where you can gaze at its veins, organs, and little pumping heart. It may look like glass, but it’s a regular squishy frog.

Turtle frog

Courtesy Marion Anstis

It’s a turtle. It’s a frog. It’s a turtle frog! What does such a thing look like? First, it’s super slimy. It has a body that’s shaped exactly like a turtle’s. Except there isn’t any shell. Just a turtle shell shape that has short little legs and a little head. And don’t forget that it also has that glutinous, gel-like, slimy shine. It has very tiny eyes too. Now all you need is your turtle frog neck sweater!

Don’t miss these remarkable—and adorable—animal friendships.

Fried egg jellyfish

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If you like your eggs sunny side up, don’t freak out when you gaze upon a fried egg jellyfish. It looks exactly like an egg that just got broken open in a frying pan. To make matters sillier, its “body” appears to be covered in sugar candy, like the kind you might find on a cupcake. Now, all this silly creature needs is some peanut butter to go with that jelly.

Blue-footed booby

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These adorable, fluffy birds live on the Galapagos Islands, and they look like regular, cute birds, except for one thing: They have bright blue webbed feet. Electric blue turquoise to be exact. Scientists have figured out the healthiest boobies have the bluest feet; their eyes are especially attuned to pick up shades of blue, so their feet are a major asset during mating dances. Don’t miss these extraordinary animals that are rarely seen by human eyes.

Leafy sea dragon

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If you’ve ever wanted to see lettuce go for a deep sea swim, then definitely check out the leafy sea dragon; it’s like a strange, beautiful salad doing water ballet. It actually uses its leafy body for camouflage, so it can blend in with surrounding seaweed. It looks soft and flowy, but it also has sharp spines for protection in true dragon style.

Tasseled wobbegong

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The most surprising thing about the tasseled wobbegong is not that it’s named the tasseled wobbegong, it’s that it’s a species of carpet shark. Yes, there are carpet sharks. What that means is that it has a flat, weird-looking body that it uses for camouflage when it ambushes prey. And wobbegong is the aboriginal word for “beard,” so just imagine a big shaggy ocean carpet that attacks. Yikes! These innocent-looking animals are actually very dangerous.

Star-nosed mole

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The star-nosed mole sounds like it would be pretty adorable. It’s actually the opposite: This rodent should’ve been named the creepy, tentacled, worm-nosed mole because its nose is composed of several long, slimy, sensitive appendages. Needless to say, these moles smell really, really well, even underwater. They also have long, shovel-like claws on their fingers.

Blobfish

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The blobfish has a silly name, but also one that is extremely fitting. This animal is just a big blob of slimy flesh that happens to be a fish. The blobfish often tops the list of the ugliest animals. It doesn’t seem to care as it mostly just floats around like a big blob of silly goo.

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Spiny lumpsucker

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What’s sillier than a name that’s totally literal? A spiny lumpsucker is basically just a lump of a fish with spines all over it that sucks onto stuff. (Their entire underside is basically a suction cup.) They are technically fish, but they “suck” at swimming. They also taste awful to humans but sometimes eat each other. Next, read about these animal facts that you probably have all wrong.

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