Apr 18, 2008

Specialized Mole

Rare is the day when I see anything get the best of a centipede. That alone endears this creature to me (sorry, you invert lovers).

You're looking at the profile of a new addition to Ugly Overload: the marsupial mole. There are two species of these Australian marsupials, and not much is known about them.

They are the epitome of specialization. Anything that doesn't aid in digging has been disposed of, including eyes, external ears, and a tail (vestigial at best). On the flip side, it has some unique digging upgrades: the third and fourth digits on the front paws sport elongated claws (see photo), their marsupial pouches face backward (like the wombat) to keep dirt from getting inside, and their neck vertebrae are fused together to help them ramrod their way through sod.

I'm reminded of myself. I've stripped away anything that doesn't assist in accounting or blogging, including physical health, social grace, and pigment in my skin. On the other hand, my sack-of-potatoes body fits easily into any office chair, I have calluses on my blunted fingertips, and I absorb sustenance from the glare of my LCD monitor, photosynthesis-style.

Thanks for the critter, Mike. Once again, I find myself pining for the Outback.

Photo source: Animal Pictures Archive

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now, I usually find "ugly" animals to still be pretty appealing, but damn, that thing is gross! Wow. :D

Owlman said...

That thing is REALLY ugly! Give me owls any day of the week

Anonymous said...

It's a furry mouth. With cloven hoofs! There actually seem to be more bizarre types of moles than 'normal' ones.

Anonymous said...

Wow...that is disturbing

Jade said...

Anything that can take down a centipede impresses the hell out of me. Seriously. That's *NO* easy task!

Anonymous said...

I love when a new ugly is added to the list. Awesome. Some days the world seems real old and big, you know? Full of some crazy shit, like eyeless burrowing Harkonnen hamsters with little shrimp tails for hands. I want pictures of its ugly babies!

Unknown said...

Wow, this is quite possibly the strangest mammal I've ever seen.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps if you solar power your monitor, you can get some Vitamin D into that sustenance menu. Ha.

Raging Wombat said...

Ah, I like your thinking, yvonne. That might clear up my softening skeletal structures. I thought I was getting all my D from ice cream. Guess not.

Anonymous said...

Ah, my new favorite animal. Siberian tiger, eat your heart out! Any thing that reduces the number of centipedes in the world deserves a big trophy.

Unknown said...

There's a certain H.R. Giger vibe to this picture, if Giger's designs ever had fur.

Sagrotan said...

YO! WHO SAYS MY FAV ANIMAL IS KINDA UGLY EH?
No serious: I really think the two-legged parasite of this planet is the real ugly thing!
Why dontcha post a pic of an unerected old mans penis? THAT is ugly. and definetly NOT this cute mole...