Animals That Look Like Monsters
Squid If you think Dracula's fangs are creepy, take a look at the choppers on this squid, specifically Promachoteuthis sulcus. Its ghoulish-looking teeth — which some say look like an old guy's dentures — are found on its bottom side. Incredibly, they actually aren't teeth at all, but rather a set of lips covering its beak.
Venezuelan Poodle Moth It has enormous, bulging black eyes. Long, brown, spiky antenna that stick out straight to each side. And a poofy, furry, white body. Put it all together and it becomes a terrifying look for a moth. And certainly something you wouldn't want to stumble upon flapping around your porch light.
Japanese Spider Crab One glimpse of its pincers will leave you quaking. That's because the Japanese spider crab's claws are enormous — not to mention strong and known to cause serious injury. The crab itself is gigantic, with a leg span that can reach 12 feet (4 meters).
Aye-aye With unruly, mad-scientist hair, startlingly bright eyes, long, bony digits and oversized ears, the nocturnal aye-aye can easily give anyone a fright. The small, endangered mammal is only found on the island of Madagascar, where the locals consider them bad luck.
Star-nosed Mole The star-nosed mole wouldn't look nearly as monstrous if it weren't for its proboscis. Pink and fleshy, with 22 tentacles that give it its star appearance, plus two ominous-looking eyes in the center (which are actually nostrils), the mole's nose is more reminiscent of a tiny octopus than a celestial body. Luckily for the mole, its ugly snout is quite useful.
Anglerfish The natural world is home to more than 300 species of anglerfish, each uglier than the last, but we're mainly interested in some of the 160 species that lurk in the inhospitable depths of the world's oceans.
Scorpion fly Our next monstrous critter would look right at home among the mix-and-match features of mythical monsters like the cockatrice, the griffon and the hippogriff. Its long reddish, body, yellow-and-black camo-patterned wings and mantis-like head would make it stand out in any crowd of insects, but it's the scorpion-like tail that makes you want to keep your distance from this omnivore.
Tongue-eating Louse We know what you're thinking: No one is allowed to bite your tongue but you. Well, fear not. You're probably safe, unless you happen to be a rose snapper. If so, we recommend steering clear of the Cymothoa exigua isopod.
Assassin Bug Some critters are born with looks that horrify, others have to accessorize. Take Acanthaspis petax, one of the 7,000 known assassin bugs, which takes trophy collecting to a whole new level by decorating its spiny body with the corpses of its prey.
Oarfish Over the years, we've advanced several candidates to explain alleged sightings of these legendary creatures, from porpoises swimming in single file to masses of seaweed, giant squids or even enormous nemertines (marine ribbon worms).