Ugly Animals: September 2011

Snub Nosed Monkey

As read on ScienceDaily dated Oct 27, 2010

An international team of primatologists have discovered a new species of monkey in Northern Myanmar (formerly Burma.) The research, published in the American Journal of Primatology, reveals how Rhinopithecus strykeri, a species of snub-nosed monkey, has an upturned nose which causes it to sneeze when it rains.

The species has been named Rhinopithecus strykeri in honour of Jon Stryker, President and Founder of the Arcus Foundation who supported the project. However, in local dialects it is called mey nwoah, 'monkey with an upturned face.'

While the species is new to science the local people know it well and claim that it is very easy to find when it is raining because the monkeys often get rainwater in their upturned noses causing them to sneeze. To avoid getting rainwater in their noses they spend rainy days sitting with their heads tucked between their knees

According to local hunters the monkeys spend the summer months, between May and October, at higher altitudes in mixed temperate forests. In winter they descend closer to villages when snowfall makes food scarcer.

Ugly Animals - Snub Nosed Monkey

Baby Aardvarks

"Everything is cute when it is little" is what I have heard all these days until I came across this one. Baby Aardvarks possess all the qualities to be featured in our Ugly Animals blog. Well, Why not? If you think this Baby Aardvark is cute then you do not belong to the majority. May be, you are unique or rather one in a million:-)

But hey, I wouldn't put aardvarks on a cute animal list to being with, but newly born ones are especially hard on the eyes. Aardvarks are nocturnal mammals native to Africa that have a knack for burrowing.

Statistically, there are only about 35 aardvarks in zoos in North America.With fewer than a dozen successful births each year, aardvark births are not common. They are solitary by nature.

If you’ve been wondering, "Aardvark" means "ground pig" in Afrikaans/Dutch. It is not, however, actually related to the pig.

Ugly Animals - Baby Aardvarks

Lizard Fish

The Lizard fish is found both Inshore & Offshore but both are different species. The Offshore variety being much smaller. They are distributed throughout Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. The Inshore Lizard fish is coastal. The Inshore Lizard Fish is larger than it's counterpart and is usually 15 to 16 inches in length. World Record is 2 lbs.

As per Wiki,

The Lizardfishes (or typical lizardfishes to distinguish them from the Bathysauridae and Pseudotrichonotidae) are a family, the Synodontidae, of aulopiform fish. They are found in tropical and subtropical marine waters throughout the world.

The species is not targeted and is usually caught when fishing for other species. They can be classified as a nuisance and will tackle any size plug without a problem.

Some people call this Lizard fish as a smaller predator fish that lives in the depths of the water. They are found throughout the world. The Lizard Fish has a very short dorsal fin, a small fatty second dorsal fin and a caudal fin which bursts a very deep fork in it.

Lizard fish are what is known as an ambush predator, which will sit on the bottom and wait for their prey to come tot hem before grabbing it in very sharp toothed jaws.

Ugly Animals - Lizard Fish

Mandrill

Mandrills are the largest of all monkeys. They are shy and reclusive primates that live only in the rain forests of equatorial Africa.

Mandrills live in troops, which are headed by a dominant male and include a dozen or more females and young. They also gather in multi-male or multi-female groups that can include some 200 individuals. I could recollect reading on one of the other blogs that, "for that one male amongst his pride of such huge number of females...I guess he earned the name "man-drill". That is so true, Don't you think?

Though I personally feel these are not as bad as the Ugly Bald Uakaris, these colors make them look strange and weird.

Like all monkeys, mandrills communicate through scent marking, vocalizations, and body language. Sometimes mandrills shake their heads and "grin" widely to show their enormous canine teeth, which can be over 2 inches (5 centimeters) long. This may appear scary to us, but it’s usually a friendly gesture within the mandrill community.

Ugly Animals - Mandrill

Bald Uakari

The bald uakari (Latin Name: Cacajao calvus) or bald-headed uakari is a small New World monkey with a very short tail, red face, a bald head, and long coat. It generally weighs less than 9 pounds (4.1 kg) and is anywhere from about 20 to 23 inches (51 to 58 cm) in length.

The bald uakari is restricted to várzea forests and other wooded habitats near water in the western Amazon of Brazil and Peru.

The most striking characteristic of the Bald Uakari is their bald red face. The colour of their face is also a sign of good health - sick animals develop pale faces.

The diet of the Bald Uakari mainly consists of seeds, flowers and some small animals. Bald Uakaris are not prolific breeders - they give birth to one infant every two years. The breeding season is from October to May and their gestation period is unknown.

Did you know?

The name Uakari is pronounced Wakari.
Uakari's are the only short tailed American monkey.
Uakaris are also known by the following names: Red Uakari, Bald Headed Uakari and Scarlet Fever Uakari

Ugly Animals - Bald Uakari

Elephant Seal

The elephant seal, though very cute if young or female, get their name from the "Bull" or fully grown male seal with his large snout. I personally LOVE seals. I think they are kind of cute :-) So, I am gonna be partial and try not to use the word Ugly on them but then it is suggested by one of my close friends to post it up on our Ugly Animals blog which is why it is featured here.

The nose of an Elephant Seal actually resembles that of an elephant trunk, only shorter. There are two different species of elephant seals. One species is from the northern Pacific coasts of the U.S. and Canada and the other species is from the southern hemisphere, that being New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and Peninsula Valdes.

Both of these species of seal reach a whopping 16 feet long and up to 6000 lbs for the bulls and the cows are a bit smaller at 10 feet long and 2000 lbs small. They like to feast on ocean delights such as squid, octopi, eels, rays, small sharks and large fish. And its no wonder because they need to maintain a large amounts of blubber to stay warm within the ocean.

They spend up to 80% of their lives in the water.They are able to stay underwater due to their large amount of blood supplies in their bodies, which also carries the oxygen needed during their deep ocean diving. These large blood supplies are stored in large sinuses found in their abdomens and also stored within their muscles. Because of this they can stay underwater for up to 2 hours long!

By the age of four or five years old, the females are ready to begin mating. They will generally only have one pup at a time. The male reaches his maturity around five years, but won't reach alpha status until he reaches eight years of age or older, alpha being the leader of the group. His prime age is between nine and twelve years of age.

If you think this is one of the Ugly Animals the, hold on! Look at the picture where it is cuddling onto the other seal. Does it not just make you say, "Awwwww!" :-)

Ugly Animals - Elephant Seal

Frigate Bird

While some people consider this Frigate Bird as a magnificent one, I personally do not like it. Not that my perspective matters but I also hope that at least 40% of my readers would also find this bird a little strange (if ugly is not the appropriate word).

The frigate birds are a family of seabirds and are also called frigate pelicans. It can be found breeding along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and in the Corcovado National Park.

They have long wings, tails and bills and the males have a red pouch that is inflated during the breeding season to attract a mate. Females are black, but have a white breast and lower neck sides, a brown band on the wings and a blue eye ring. The Frigate bird is 1m long with a 2.15m wingspan.

They lack the ability to take off from water so they snatch prey from the ocean surface or beach using their long, hooked bills. Frigate birds are seasonally monogamous which means they only mate with one female per season. They also nest as a colony. They lay one or two white eggs. Both parents take turns feeding for the first three months but then only the mother feeds the young for another eight months.

Ugly Animals - Frigate Bird

Alligator Snapping Turtle

Don't go insulting the largest turtles in North America because the snapping turtle packs a mean bite. Equipped not only with a vicious mouth, the snapping turtle rocks three rows of spikes on its back.

The largest freshwater turtle in the world, the alligator snapping turtle (Macroclemys temminckii) is native to the southeastern region of the United States. Like its distant relative, the common snapper (Chelydra serpentina), the alligator snapper has a large head and powerful jaws. However, the alligator snapper differs quite a bit from the common snapper, both in the way it looks and in the way it hunts and eats.

The Alligator Snapping Turtle has powerful jaws that can bite off human fingers. However, many have been caught for food or to have as pets, and now there is concern that they may be in danger of extinction.

Despite many large adults often being kept with other turtle species in zoo exhibits, alligator snapping turtles are best kept alone. Because of their extremely large size (heaviest freshwater turtle in the world), alligator snappers are not for beginners, or even experienced keepers if they cannot provide the space for these beasts.

Ugly Animals - Alligator Snapping Turtle