WHOA

This is one of those rare cases where I am pretty much struck speechless by the ugliness of an animal, so, just the facts, ma'am:

This is a four day old seriema at Westküstenpark St. Peter-Ording in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

The seriema is supposedly descended from huge, carnivorous, flightless birds that roamed South America 60 million years ago, hacking their prey into bloody chunks with their terrifying beaks. But this one will grow up to eat insects, small animals and even sometimes a side of veggies, so, no worries, except the nightmares you're going to have after seeing this photo.

Thanks (I think ) to The Local.

-Wombat (No Relation)

World's Ugliest Dog Crowned

It's the event of the year! A 14-year-old, 2-pound Chinese crested and chihuahua mix named Yoda has been crowned world's ugliest dog at the annual contest in Petaluma, California.

Photo source: MSN

After beating dozens of other uglies for the title, Yoda was crowned and sashed (not really) by last year's winner, Princess Abby Francis. Yoda collected the trophy, a check for $1,000, and the adoration of millions. Her owner, Terry Schumacher of Hanford, California, found Yoda abandoned behind an apartment building and at first thought she was a rat.

Photo source: Fox 8

It should surprise no one that Chinese crested + chihuahua is a winning combination. Chinese crested have historically dominated this competition, but chihuahuas and chihuahua mixes are starting to give them a run for their money. Congratulations to Yoda and her owner!

Your Monday ugdorable

A little baby nine-banded armadillo - definitely the ugliest species of armadillo - drinking out of a hose in Texas, where it's apparently even hotter and drier than usual. Poor little guy!

Thirstily,
Wombat (No Relation)

This is a test

How much do you love ugly animals? Do you go "Awwww!" when you see a picture of a baby vampire bat?

From the Philadelphia Zoo thanks to Zooborns.

Bloodthirstily,
-Wombat (No Relation)

Compete for ugly immortality

Name this animal! This is a photo of Phallusia mammillata, the largest sea squirt of Britain. Did you know Britain had sea squirts? Were you even sure that a sea squirt is an animal and not, I don't know, some kind of fungus?

Well, they do and it is. And along with nine other types of endangered British flora and fauna, it's part of a contest at the Guardian to give common English names to neglected species that currently are known only by their Latin nomenclature.

For more inspiration, here's another angle:

Maybe that's its mouth... That photo comes from a website that has some nice cross-sectional drawings, and even though it is written in French it's quite clear that the critter has some organs that are only found in animals. In fact, the youngsters are tiny larvae that resemble tadpoles, and only later do they settle down into the immobile form you see here.

The winners of last year's naming contest included the Queen's executioner beetle and sea piglet shrimp. Can you do as well for this lovely blob of sealife? Wouldn't it be cool for the name you came up with to go down in history? Give it a try!

-Wombat (No Relation)

Ugly souvenir

I went to the beach this past weekend, and I brought you back something - it's a horsehoe crab.

Sadly, I found that I had just missed the annual horseshoe crab festival held in Milton, Delaware. (It's actually the Horsehoe Crab and Shorebird Festival, but we don't care about those pretty shorebirds on this blog.)

If you wonder why horseshoe crabs deserve a festival, I suggest you check out horseshoecrab.org. It's the website of a group that's devoted to their conservation, and it turns out, they're pretty amazing creatures. Did you know they have ten eyes? And they've been around since before the dinosaurs? And their blood is used to test medical products for bacterial contamination? No, you didn't. Go check it out.

-Wombat (No Relation)