Michael Hearst - Unusual Creatures: A Mostly Accurate Account of Some of Earths Strangest Animals

Who loves strange animals? Chances are you do if you bought this book. (Then again, perhaps your uncle gave it to you.) Whatever the case may be my name is Michael Hearst, and Id like to share with you some of my favorite unusual creatures. You ask, Whats an unusual creature? Well, heres my definition

un-u-su-al crea-ture (n-y-zh-wl kr-chr) noun. An animal that looks, sounds, smells, or acts in a way that makes you stop and say, Whoa, dude! Whats up with that?

Truth be told, I love all animals. (If I had my way, I would have a pet giraffe that lived in my backyard; I would name it Ruth, and I would feed it acacia leaves from my second-floor bedroom window.) However, for these pages, we will focus on some of the lesser-known animals to roam the earth. I hope you have as much fun reading and looking through this book as I had putting it together. And I really hope at least a few of these unusual creatures make you stop and say, Whoa, dude! Whats up with that?

Michael Hearst

Michael Hearst with one of his unusual creature instruments, the claviola.

IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE A BIOLOGIST (WHICH IS A SCIENTIST WHO STUDIES ANIMALS AND PLANTS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO EVERYTHING AROUND THEM), YOU WILL WANT TO BREAK DOWN THE CLASSIFICATION OF EACH ANIMAL INTO THE FOLLOWING:

You can memorize this list by taking the first letter of each category and placing it in the following mnemonic:
K ids P lace C andles
O n F oot G ravy S ausage.

TO FURTHER UNDERSTAND HOW THIS LIST WORKS, LETS LOOK AT THE DOMESTIC DOG AS AN EXAMPLE.

KINGDOM: Animalia, An animal (i.e., not a plant).

PHYLUM: Chordata, A vertebrate.

CLASS: Mammalia, A mammal, which means it is air-breathing, has hair, and has three middle-ear bones.

ORDER: Carnivora, A carnivoreit eats meat!

FAMILY: Canidae, A wolf- or fox-like animal.

GENUS: Canis, It is in the genus that houses coyotes, jackals, and wolves, among others.

SPECIES: Canis lupus, The wolf species.

SUBSPECIES: Canis lupus familiaris, And finally, here is the exact Latin term for the common domestic dog, descended from the wolf.

(YES, THERE CAN BE SUBSPECIES, AS WELL AS SUBGENERA, SUBPHYLA, AND SUB- EVERYTHING ELSE. IT CAN GET COMPLICATED. MY APOLOGIES.)

Among the many CREATURES that roam the planet, there are two distinct categories: USUAL and UNUSUAL. Here are some examples of each:

Squirrel

Earthworm

Poodle

Asian Elephant

Tilapia

Amoeba

Tiger

Field Mouse

Pigeon

Dolphin

Human

Cockroach

Raccoon

Hippopotamus

Littleneck Clam

Three-Toed Sloth

Leafy Sea Dragon

Star-Nosed Mole

Mimic Octopus

Chinese Giant Salamander

Dugong

Olm

Wombat

Giraffe-Necked Weevil

Slow Loris

Magnapinna Squid

Tardigrade

Aye-aye

Tiburonia Granrojo

Solenodon

Of course, all animals can also be categorized as vertebrates (with a backbone) or invertebrates (spineless).

Did you know that invertebrates make up at least 95 percent of ALL animal species?

MAMMALS(Mammalia) Such as dogs and monkeys.

BONY FISH(Osteichthyes) Such as flounder and marlin.

AMPHIBIANS(Amphibia) Such as frogs and salamanders.

REPTILES(Reptilia) Such as snakes and crocodiles.

BIRDS(Aves) Such as storks and pigeons.

PROTOZOA Such as amoebas and flagellates.

INSECTS(Insecta) Such as grasshoppers and ants.

ARACHNIDS(Arachnida) Such as tarantulas and scorpions.

BIVALVES(Bivalvia) Such as clams, oysters, and mussels.

CEPHALOPODS(Cephalopoda) Such as octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish.

AND NOW YOU ARE ON YOUR WAY TO SPEAKING PERFECT LATIN!