The Thorny Dragon

The thorn y dragon, also known as the thorny devil, is an Australian lizard. It's scientific name is Moloch horridus but it is also called the mountain devil, the thorny lizard or the moloch. The thorny dragon grows up to 20 cm in length and can live up to 20 years. It is a brown animal but it's colours vary on the temperature (pale when hot, darker when colder).

This animal has a false head on his neck to distract his predators. He simply puts his head down exposing the false head as the real one and he then lets the predator fight it out with his false head. The thorny devil is covered in spikes which are used to camouflage, collect water and hurt predators. The Thorny Dragon's name comes from his two large horned scales on his forehead, making him look like a dragon. 

The mountain devil lives in central Australia and primarily in arid areas or deserts. 

It mainly eats ants and other insects and can eat thousands of ants per day. The scales on his back allow him to absorb water throughout his body.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGeAZi_JgW0
This is a link to a BBC documentary about the thorny devil.

The narwhal

The narwhal is a medium sized whale found in Arctic waters around Canada, Russia and Greenland. These sea mammals are around 3.95 to 5.65 meters long when adults. A narwhal can be distinguished by its large horn like tusk. Narwhals tend to vary between 800 to 1600 kilogrammes when adults but males are bigger and heavier than females.

This mammal is also known as the unicorn of the sea. It primarily eats fish like cod and flat fish. Narwhals life span tend to vary but they can live up to 50 years. Unfortunately most of them in the wild don't get the opportunity to live that long due to other predators but they can also die from flash freezing waters, trapping the creature and making it immobile. The younger ones tend to mostly die due to starvation and this animal in on the watchlist as it is Near Threatened with about 75 000 live Narwhals.

: Narwhal compared to an average human being

 This creature was hunted by natives for it's ivory and meat, causing its population to massively decrease. The Inuit believed the narwhal came to be when a women harpooned a narwhal and the rope was tied around her waist, she fell in the water and turned into a narwhal and her tied that was tied in a knot became a horn. In the medieval ages, narwhal tusks were such a huge luxury, that a simple crown made by it was worth  castle. People back then believed it was like unicorn horn and thought it had magic powers. The horns were used as cups as it was thought it neutralised any poison put in it and also used a remedie against sicknesses such as melancholia.

I especially like this animal as I've been fascinated by Arctic sea creatures such as the Orca whale (Killer Whale). I learned quite a bit writing this article as it helped me learn more about this unicorn of the sea. I never knew Narwhal horns were such a valuable resource in the dark ages as Î thought only gold and gems mattered.

For a National Geographic documentary on theses creatures, click the link below :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO58kt-jETA

Viper fish

The viper fish is a deep sea creature primarily found in tropical and temperate waters. These fish have fang like teeth and a light producing organ allowing them to lure prey. These creatures grow up to be between 30-60 cm long.They stay between 250-2500 feet in depth while going deeper when the sun is up and higher when it is night time.

This fish is one of the most fierce aquatic creatures and varies in color (black, green and silver). It uses his fang like teeth to immobilize its prey. Due to the size of his teeth, his teeth bend to the back of his head.

Viper fish tend to live between 30-40 years but in captivity it tends to live for a few hours. This fish can withstand a long period of time without food. Scientists believe it can swim up to two body lengths per second but not much is known about this sea creature as it is agile and dose not live long enough in captivity for scientists to learn more about it.

For a documentary about the viper fish and other horrifying fish, click the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP602tX68Ig

Japanese Spider Crab (Giant Spider Crab)

The Japanese spider crab is a species of marine crab living around Japan. It has the largest leg span of any other crab. A spider crab's legs can reach up to 3.8 meters in length and the body grows up to 40 cm long. The spider crab is kind of nature but looks quite menacing. This creature is an omnivore and lives up too 600 meters under the sea.

This spider crab is in danger but no on the verge of extinction thanks to measures taken by the Japanese government preventing fishing for them during mating season where the crabs go from their deep sea safe haven to 50 meters under sea level near the shores where they are vulnerable to crab fishing. Despite there being a law prohibiting crab fishing during this time, some people still do it because the crab is considered a delicacy and is worth a lot of money.

Here is a link to see living spider crabs in movement :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSf5a3TY-O8

The Gulper Eel

The gulper eel, scientifically know as Eurypharynx pelecanoides, is a deep sea fish that resembles ordinary eels but can live between 500 to 6000 feet under sea level and have a distinctively larger jaw. The gulper has tiny pectoral fins that reduce his swimming capabilities so he has to rely on his bio luminescent tail that glows pink to attract prey. This aquatic creature varies in sizes from 3 to 6 feet. The Gulper eel is found in most of the worlds exotic and warm oceans but scientists are not sure due to the depth in which it lives.

The Gulper eel eats mostly crustaceans or cephalopodes (Squid) but can occasionally eat fish but rarely does so due to its small teeth.