Sometimes we encounter something with an appearance so unfamiliar, we doubt it was born on Earth. But what makes us consider alien-looking animals as such? Do we have some confirmed ideas about what an alien life form looks like? Of course not. What we deem extraterrestrial just looks so out of our concept for an animal that the thought of aliens automatically appears since fairy tales retired. Weird shapes and colours, unusual voices, and uncommon survival strategies make us wonder if they were brought here by some meteorite rain or dropped by an asteroid.
However, while you are surfing to entertain yourself with some interesting facts about space, remember our planet has an abundance of various environments and conditions. Some of them are hard or even impossible for a human to endure. No wonder some alien-like animals on Earth originate from such conditions.
Sea Aliens
The more we explore the depths, the more alien-looking animals in the ocean we find. Deep waters are home to many unique creatures and some of them are impressive enough to suspect they’re non-native to our planet. Others became familiar through centuries and, though still fascinating, don’t sparkle that awe any more. Some of the biggest deep-sea creatures that inspired fairy tales and legends for so long are now well-known and studied. Take a giant octopus for example. The mystical Kraken turned out to be a giant octopus which is even not that big.
What is the largest deep-sea creature ever found? That would be a blue whale, which is the biggest not only among sea creatures. The mammal holds the world record for its size. However, other weird ocean habitats don’t need to be huge to impress. The frilled shark, fang tooth fish, goblin shark and blob sculpin are downright terrifying, looking as if a nightmare come to life. The severe conditions in the deep ocean made those species evolve (not so much though) into monsters we are happy to not be seeing on a regular basis.
Not all of the alien-looking sea creatures look scary of course. Take an axolotl for example. They look cute and friendly to the extent we are thrilled to keep them as pets.
Most Alien-Looking Animals on the Ground
It’s much easier to spot them, as there are not many places on the ground that people haven’t reached already. However, some creatures that became wildly known thanks to the internet are so unusual we can definitely see them as aliens. Take a binturong, for example. The animal is an impressive mix of a cat and a bear with some more features that are hard to put a finger on. It’s farther from a monster one can possibly be and it’s fun to look at.
The prize for the most alien-looking eyes should certainly go to the tarsier, which boasts impressive honey-coloured eyeballs. The creature is pretty tiny and not scary at all. By the way, if you look at its hands, they look alien as well; many movie aliens have similar narrow palms and long knotted fingers.
Space news platform Orbital Today considers an exhaustive alien-looking animal list would be long and different for various parts of the world, as we often consider things we are not familiar with to be alien. Kangaroos were quite surprising for Europeans at first, but not today when they are widely known and serve as a recognizable symbol of the Green Continent.
Which Animal is the Most Alien?
As we can see, some alien features are easy to spot. So, what is the closest animal to an alien? Scientists say an octopus may be the closest one. They are incredibly intelligent, and mysterious, and their assumed ancestor is the most distant to humans. There are more studies to be conducted, but for now, octopuses are known as sentient beings with no common ancestry to homo sapiens a unique evolutionary path.
The Final Words
The diversity of life on Earth is impressive. There are chances we still miss some pieces of the picture to fully grasp how incredible and unique some of our animal neighbours are. We haven’t seen the whole deep-sea squad for sure, and the ground may still harbour some exciting secrets to be revealed. For now, our significant task should be to protect and preserve the variety of species, however weirdly they look or live.
Author: Emma Thorpe
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