The greater sage-grouse: The Greater Sage-Grouse is a large grouse with a chubby, round body, small head, and long tail. Males change shape dramatically when they display, becoming almost spherical as they puff up their chest, droop their wings, and fan their tail into a starburst. Sage-grouse are mottled gray-brown with a black belly. Males have a black head and throat. The breast has a fluffy white ruff that, during displays, surrounds a pair of inflatable, yellow air sacs. Females have a dusky cheek patch emphasized by white markings behind the eye.

The long-eared jerboa: It inhabits China and Mongolia, is a rodent with features similar to those of a mouse and some further very interesting features. Some scientists are of the opinion that it could be distantly related to the gerbil. Its tail is twice its body length, giving it good balance when it runs and jumps. It has long back legs with large feet and moves much like a kangaroo. The soles of their feet are covered in stiff hairs which help when traveling over the desert. The front legs are relatively rather small, and they are not useable for getting around. Species from this family are usually characterized by their amazing adaptations for jumping, thought to be an evolution as a strategy to deal with predators. The life span of Long-eared jerboas is unknown, however, their average longevity is 2 to 3 years.

The panda-ants: There are some really cute insects out there, and one genus of especially cute insects is the genus Euspinolia, called the Panda Ants. Panda Ants are actually not ants at all, but instead are wasps of the family Mutillidae, commonly called the Velvet Ants. The Panda Ant was first described to science in 1938 and is found in dry coastal regions of Chile. anda Ants do not live in colonies and also do not have queens and drones and workers. Panda Ants get their name from the dramatic black and white coloration of the females. However, don’t get too comfortable around a Panda Ant because they get their other common name of Cow Killer Ants from the incredibly painful sting they can deliver from their unusually long and maneuverable stinger.

The leaf-tailed geckos (Uroplatus phantasticus): Leaf-tailed geckos have long, flat bodies with triangular heads and broad, leaf-like tails. The giant leaf-tailed gecko, or common flat-tailed gecko, is one of the larger species. They have big, marbled eyes with red concentric striations around the pupil set against a background of silver, tan or gold. These lizards have a mottled pattern, with colors varying across species from tans and greens to grays and browns. Giant leaf-tailed geckos are carnivorous and eat a variety of invertebrates. Land snails make up an important part of their diet. At the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, these geckos eat a range of insects.

Red-lipped batfish: It looks like a red lipstick is applied to its fleshy lip, is mostly seen around Coca Island and Galapagos Island. This fish, which can reach up to 40 cm in length, uses 4 fins like feet and is the only fish that can walk under water with 4 feet. With its fins designed for walking, its strange nose and big red lips, the fish has an extremely interesting appearance. Red-lipped batfish are carnivorous animals as a bottom fish. They feed on other small fish, crabs, scallops and maggots.

Saiga antelopes: They are known for their extremely unusual appearance with an over-sized nose, the internal structure of which acts as a filter. The saiga is a small species of antelope, about the size of a goat (63-80cm shoulder height and 23-40kg in weight), which has a stooping body, a large head, a distinctive pendulant proboscid nose, and an unusual ‘up and down’ style of running. It’s coat is a light buff color, which becomes thicker and white in the winter. Males have pale yellowish horns, 28-38cm in length. The Saiga Antelope was added to the IUCN’s Red List as ‘Critically Endangered’ in 2001.

The aye-aye: Aye-ayes can be found only on the island of Madagascar. These rare animals may not look like primates at first glance, but they are related to chimpanzees, apes, and humans. Aye-ayes are dark brown or black and are distinguished by a bushy tail that is larger than their body. They also feature big eyes, slender fingers, and large, sensitive ears. Aye-ayes have pointed claws on all their fingers and toes except for their opposable big toes, which enable them to dangle from branches. Aye-ayes spend their lives in rain forest trees and avoid coming down to earth. They are nocturnal, and spend the day curled up in a ball-like nest of leaves and branches. The nests appear as closed spheres with single entry holes, situated in the forks of large trees.

Narrow-headed softshell turtles: The narrow-headed softshell turtle is an incredibly large species of turtle, often reaching more than 110 cm in carapace length. It is one of three species in the genus Chitra. Together, these three species diverged from all other living turtles more than 40 million years ago, around the same time humans last shared a common ancestor with tamarins and capuchin monkeys. This strange turtle is threatened by the international pet trade and harvesting for food. Their eggs are easily harvested from the beaches where they are laid. The construction of dams has led to the frequent flooding and sabotage of their nesting sites. The narrow-headed softshell turtle is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List. It is also listed on CITES appendix II to combat international trade.

Cassowaries (genus Casuarius): It is any of several species of large flightless birds of the Australo-Papuan region. Cassowaries are the only members of the family Casuariidae and belong to the order Casuariiformes, which also includes the emu. There are three species (counted by some experts as six), each with several races. The common, or southern, cassowary, Casuarius casuarius, which inhabits New Guinea, nearby islands, and Australia, is the largest—almost 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall—and has two long red wattles on the throat. The dwarf cassowary (C. bennetti) is native to higher elevations of New Guinea and can also be found on the island of New Britain, and the northern cassowary (C. unappendiculatus) inhabits New Guinea’s northern lowlands.

The glass frog (family Centrolenidae): It is any of a group of tree frogs found in the New World tropics, some species of which have transparent bellies and chests. In glass frogs the viscera are visible, and an observer can see the heart pumping blood into the arteries and food moving through the gut. There is no satisfactory explanation for this transparency, and not all species have a “glass” underside. Viewed from above, most glass frogs appear light green. Their patterning ranges from uniform green to green with white to yellow spots that mimic glass frog eggs. Glass frogs have expanded digit tips that aid in climbing, and this trait allows most to live in trees or shrubs along forest streams.

Golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana): It is also called snub-nosed langur, any of four species of large and unusual leaf monkeys (see langur) found in highland forests of central China and northern Vietnam. They have a broad, short face with wide-set slanting eyes and a short, flat nose with forward-facing nostrils. It lives in the coniferous montane forests of central China at elevations of 1,800–2,700 metres (6,000–9,000 feet), where the temperature drops below freezing in winter and rises only to about 25 °C (77 °F) in summer. They have rich golden brown to golden red fur, and the tail is about the same length as the body. Males have a long mantle of black and golden hairs on the back. Their bodies measure about 62 cm (24 inches) long, and they weigh 16–17 kg (35–37 pounds). Females are slightly smaller, weighing only about 9–10 kg. The trefoil-shaped face of the golden snub-nosed monkey is pale blue, and adult males develop strange red swellings at the corners of the mouth.

The okapi: (Okapia johnstoni), cud-chewing hoofed mammal that is placed along with the giraffe in the family Giraffidae (order Artiodactyla). It serves as the flagship species (a popular species that has become a symbol for the conservation of a region) for the Ituri Forest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Found in the rainforests of the Congo region, the okapi was unknown to science until 1901, when British explorer Sir Harry Hamilton Johnston sent the first bits of hide to the British Museum. However, British American explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley had made the first report of the animal as early as 1890.

The kori bustard: The Kori Bustard is Africa’s heaviest flying bird and can weigh up to 19kg. It is a land bird with long neck and long foot ended by three fingers with light brown or grey plumage. The sides of the crown on the head extend into a black crest. There is a white stripe over each eye. The chin, throat, and neck are creamy white mixed with black bands. The underparts of the bird are buff colored with dark brown vermiculations. The tail has wide bands of grayish brown and white. The primaries, or flight feathers, are also similarly marked. The shoulder area has a checkered black and white pattern.

Mantis Shrimp: “Beautiful” and “deadly” are two descriptors you don’t typically see attached to shrimp. But the mantis shrimp is in a class of its own. This colorful specimen has earned a reputation for being one of the most fearsome creatures of the deep. Here are 10 facts worth knowing about the pint-sized bruisers. Despite their namesake and relatively puny stature, mantis shrimp aren’t shrimp at all. (Neither, of course, are they mantises.) They’re stomatopods, distant relatives to crabs, shrimp, and lobsters.

The proboscis monkeys: (Nasalis larvatus), long-tailed arboreal primate found along rivers and in swampy mangrove forests of Borneo. Named for the male’s long and pendulous nose, the proboscis monkey is red-brown with pale underparts. The nose is smaller in the female and is upturned in the young. Males are 56–72 cm (22–28 inches) long and average 20 kg (44 pounds), but females weigh only about 10 kg (22 pounds). The tail is about the same length as the body. Proboscis monkeys live in groups of about 20 consisting of a single male and up to a dozen females; males live in bachelor groups. The young have blue faces and are born singly, apparently at any time of year; gestation is estimated at five to six months. Proboscis monkeys wade upright through water, which makes them exceptional among monkeys in being habitually bipedal.