Rhino Mouse

What you're looking at is a mouse afflicted with the 'rhino' mutant gene(s). It is a variant on the more comman hairless variety. It's a nasty condition to have. I'm not savvy enough with the scientific terms used in the articles about this mutation, but beyond being hairless, these creatures develop long nails, cysts, glandular problems and a series of skin disorders (obviously).

If there are any biologists our there that can distill the scientific reports into layman's terms, I would be much obliged.

Thanks for the photo, Teresa.

Why Oh Why

I've seen enough of the world to know that we humans eat a wide, wide variety of foods (some of which shouldn't technically count as food). I'm not surprised that rat is eaten (and--here's a shocker--it's even a delicacy).

But why, oh why, must the Thai rice farmers that have turned to serving bandicoot rat at roadside stations (making quite a profit!) boil them hair, tail, whiskers, unmentionables, and all? Wouldn't a skinned rat roasting on spit (mmm, with BBQ sauce) be so much more palatable?

Photo source: Reuters via Yahoo

Only One Way

Scarab beetles are one of those creatures that produce comely adults from abhorent larvae. This is very much the case with the white grub.

These grubs (from a variety of scarab beetles) are a plague found in many lawns in the northeastern US (and no doubt many other places on the planet). If you get patchy dead spots on your lawn, then you know what I mean. Unfortunately, they are very resistant to pesticides. The only way to get rid of them is to dig through the topsoil of your entire lawn by hand, extract each grub as you find it, and eat it. The gastric juices of the human digestive system are the only way to kill them.

Thanks for the photos, Holly.

Photo source: University of Connecticut

Bison the Roach

Say hello to Bison the hissing cockroach. This beast recently matured in one of Jade's colonies. It measures in at 3.5 inches long by 2 inches wide, with 1/4 inch horns (ergo the name of Bison). I assume that a hissing cockroach of this size does more than hiss. I'm imagining something more of a roar.

BTW, that is Jade's better half, Rachel, holding the roach. She has more chutzpah than I do, no doubt.

Thanks for the photos, Jade. Keep tabs on this one, lest he should run rampant in Tokyo and contend with Godzilla.

Upping the Charm

If you hate naked mole-rats, then this isn't the blog for you. I expect I'll return to this rodent every few months, especially when new photos crop up. But you needn't fear that you'll encounter one, unless you are walking the wilds of Africa, or the grounds of one of your nicer zoos.

One interesting factoid is that these rats have developed an almost insect-like social structure. Now that ups their charm.

Thanks for the link, Karen.

Photo source: SFGate.com

Indignity

Did someone really tattoo this rat? Really? What an indignity. But then, we do dock tails, clip ears, and castrate/spay animals, so this rat may have gotten off easy. Next time, rat. Next time.

Thanks for the link, Matt.

Photo source: ModBlog

Oversized Snail

Phlimm sent in this screenshot of a giant snail he came across on YouTube (see video below).

This mollusk can get to almost 8 inches in size. I know for a lot of you boys out there, your first thought was "how much salt?... how much bubbling?..." You're sick, I say. Sick. But I understand.

My first thought centered around placing it on my sisters' pillows. But that was years ago. I'll have to let out my bullying impulses on my daughters.

















Thanks for the abomination, Phlimm.

Microwaved Hotdogs & Mole-Rats

I've posted on the naked mole-rat before (see this link), but I've recently received a couple of requests to invite them back. Katy sent me this photo, then Lani sent me this article, which has this to say about this rodent's appearance:

"Picture a hot dog that's been left in a microwave a little too long, add some buck teeth at one end, and you've got a fairly good idea of what a Naked Mole Rat looks like."

I love it. But you needn't fear running across one of these in the wild, unless you are one of my African readers. Even then, you probably haven't ever seen one. They live underground and never venture top-side.

The naked mole-rat makes for great children's book material. That's a good thing; we want our kids to know that ugly has its place, too.

Thanks for the links, Katy and Lani!

Photos (1 & 2) courtesy: Lisa

Mundane Moles

These uglies look more like something from Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class than critters you might find in your yard while gardening. But nope, they're just your average, mundane mole.

I know that most moles have fur, so I'm not sure what this pair's story is. Are they babies? Are they nudists? Are they deviants who are defying the elders of mole society? Are they genetic aberrations that should be captured and given to science for further research? So many questions.

As an interesting side note (well, as interesting as you think moles might be), they eat their own weight in food every day, and may starve to death if they go 12 hours without food. Sounds like my teenage brother.

Photo courtesy: Tracy Lee Carroll

Wallowing in Hideousness

Given some of the comments lately, it would seem that many of you are fans of the naked mole rat, and rightfully so. This poor creature was whacked with several ugly sticks: it's a rodent, it's hairless, and it's subterranean.

Nicholas has blessed us with this shot of an entire tribe of them. These creatures spend their entire lives in darkness, yet here they are being forced to sleep in artificial light. Look at them, wallowing in shame at their own hideousness.

Or perhaps they are basking in it.

Knoxville or Bust

Yahoo is just cranking out the uglies. I couldn't pass up a reference to the naked mole-rat - one of the ugliest denizens of Africa. This particular set is awaiting transfer to the Knoxville Zoo.

Such Courage

The African naked mole-rat has everything wrong with it. I just can't imagine the courage it must have taken to pick it up. Thanks, Riude.

Photo courtesy: nationalzoo.si.edu

Shrew-ed

This little guy is a tree shrew. Noticing the rather disturbing-looking snout, the gnarled ear, and the gigantic eyes, and it is clear that his ugliness is sufficient to kill. And those claws look like they could be wicked, as well.

Couple these disfigured traits with the fact that some shrews are, in fact, venomous (some with a toxicity capable of rendering around 500 mice lifeless), and this vermin, while small, suddenly doesn't seem so harmless.

Photo courtesy: http://www.ryanphotographic.com/

Thankfully, That's Not Its Face

Yikes. You are looking at a star-nosed mole. When I first looked at it, I thought the...star...was its face, but it's "just" the nose, which is believed to let the mole detect electrical activity in prey animals due to its blindness (and since no proof exists for this theory, the only thing we can say for certain is that--whatever else it may be--the nose is very, very ugly).

Can you imagine if you saw one of these things clawing their way out of the ground? Most moles are ugly, but this is the stuff of nightmares.

Photo courtesy: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~rmacarth/

Ugly to the Fourth Degree

This creature, known as the naked mole-rat, has four degrees of ugliness:

1) Natural ugliness - needs dental work!
2) Subterranean
3) Hairless
4) Vermin

Doesn't get much worse.

Photo courtesy: www.einheitsschritt.de

Ugly Baby?

Just to prove the whole hairless = ugly theme, here is a baby rat. I happen to think that your average adult pet rat isn't ugly. But they sure do produce some ugly babies. Aren't babies meant to be cute?
Rats, hear me now. You could really improve your vermin image if you began producing cute babies. You'll never learn, will you?

Photo courtesy: www.markpreston.net.