WORLDS TEN MOST EXTRAORDINARY CREATURES

Hey guys, welcome to Akadimis. My name is (insert name here), and today well be
talking about some of the most amazing and extraordinary creatures that youve probably
never heard of before.
Have you ever heard of a species that breaks its own bones to produce claws? (insert slide
reference of wolverine from x-men). Oh. Right. Almost forgot about that guy. Well, I am
talking about Wolverines animal twin the hairy frog from Central Africa. The hairy
frog, scientifically referred to as Trichobatrachus Robustus (*insert voice clip of
dictionary pron.*), have very interesting hair-like papillae on their body, which have
arteries that allow the frog to breathe on land. Hairy frogs live the majority of their lives
on land only returning to the water to breed. They prefer to feed on spiders, slugs,
grasshoppers and beetles. Heres a super interesting fact: The hairy frog has an extremely
unique defense mechanism when it feels threatened, the frog breaks its own bones
(insert thought bubble) pretty ironic for a defense strategy huh? But. What actually
happens is this: when under attack, the frog breaks its own toe bones, only to release
retractable claws, which go back inside, self-mending the bones once it feels safe again. I
know I know.. Hair frog is basically baby Logan! (aisha)
(pause)
Now lets talk about an animal slightly larger in size than the hairy frog (drum roll)
The Grolar bear! Any guesses on where it got its name? Heres a hint (insert slide), if a
camel + llama = cama, a ___ + ___ = golar bear? Thats right. The grolar bear is a hybrid
between a polar bear and a grizzly bear, having the carnivorous tendencies of the polar
bear in bodies adaptable to warmer climates like the grizzlies. Despite that interbreeding
between the two bears is a rare occurrence, the two bears cross paths somewhere in the
wild between Alaska and Canada. With reduced levels of ice in the Arctic region, there is
developing an overlap between the natural habitats of both bears, giving the bears a
chance to mate. DYK: the first grolar was killed by a hunter in 2006 as he mistook it for a
polar bear? Sad. (jo)
(pause)
Heres a disclaimer before we talk about the next extraordinary creature. If you like
cucumbers, you might want to cover your ears for this one. Its called the sea cucumber.
They live at the bottom of the sea, resemble cucumbers an awful lot, and whats
interesting about them is their skin, which is mainly made of collagen a kind of protein
also found in the human body. In fact, 30% of protein found in the human body is
actually collagen. Collagen gives sea cucumbers a very flexible body, allowing them to
tighten and loosen their body shape at will. They could liquefy Their skin is mainly made
up of collagen; a kind of protein that is very flexible. They can tighten and loosen at will.
They can for example liquefy themselves to fit through narrow gaps. as jelly and squirm
through tiny gaps. DYK: sea cucumbers are also southeast Asian delicacies, with the
Asian market for sea cucumber being an estimate USD 60m! (jo)

(pause)
Next, we have a combination of a shark and a swordfish, and well.. a vacuum cleaner.
The Goblin shark is a rare species of deep-sea shark. This pink-skinned shark stands out
because of its long, flat snout that extends through its head like a horn and its
extendible jaws, which allow it to quickly catch its prey. Believe it or not, the goblin
shark is harmless to humans. It likes to feed on crabs, squid, and deep-sea fish like dagon
fish and rattails. (A)
(Pause)
On a slightly different note - Im sure you guys have at some point in your life have
watched Pokmon. Well did you ever believe that they are real? What if I told you (insert
pokemon name) actually exists? The blue dragon is a tiny, slender, 3-centimeter long, and
funny animal that spends its life floating upside down on the surface of the Pacific,
Atlantic or Indian Ocean, thanks to an air bubble that it swallows and keeps in its belly,
going wherever the current and wind takes it. It has a form of camouflage known as
counter-shading that protects it from both flying and swimming predators. It
feeds on hydrozones, a group of animals in the same group as jellyfish, especially the
highly poisonous ones. It kills its prey by stinging them. (T)
(Pause)
If you take this next sea creature to a bar fight, youre in for a win. The Peacock Mantis
shrimp is one of the most interesting animal species in the animal kingdom. Its a large,
multicolored mantis shrimp, with shades of bright green, orange, red, and blue in its shell,
and its forearms are covered in spots. This fierce animal has a club like appendages that
folds under its body, similar to the preying mantis it uses its legs to spring onto prey. The
creatures clubs strike at 50 miles an hour in milliseconds. One strike is 50 times faster
than the blink of a human eye! It can punch 50,000 times without damaging its claws
before shelling its exoskeleton. Its safe to say that it has one of the most amazingly
complex pair of eyes. It is able to use ten times more colors than the human beings,
including ultraviolet lights. The peacock Mantis shrimp lives in the crevices of coral and
rocks, and can be found in the Indo-Pacific waters. They prey on gastropods, crabs and
mollusks. (T)
(Pause)
(M) While were still talking about the extraordinary creatures of the waters, lets discuss
an extraordinary extraordinary jellyfish the immortal jellyfish. Yes, it lives forever.
Know anyone else who can do that? I dont except maybe vampires but theyre not
even real and they cant do half the amazing things that the immortal jellyfish can. This
is how it lives forever it ages up to a fully-mature point, and then undergoes a
transformation process reverting it back to a colonial, premature stage. This shifting state
is known as Tran differentiation where cells transform into new types of cells allowing

them to grow younger. Immortal jellyfish can be found in the Mediterranean waters, and
are also known as the Medusa of Turritopsis dohnii, which is their binomial name.
(Pause)
Seems like inspiration for most of our beloved xmen has its roots in real life
extraordinary creatures. Remember mystique? The perfect shape-shifter who could mimic
any human being? Her underwater twin is the mimic octopus, a species of octopus with
the extraordinary ability to take the form of other objects and sea creatures. As expected
its abilities render it an advantage when hunting for its prey it eats crabs, worms, and
other small fish. We know that camouflaging and mimicry is a survival technique for
many species, but the mimic octopus is the only one that can take the form of more than
one object or sea creature. Owing to this incredible ability, the sea creature was only
discovered in 1989, before which it was never found or observed in its true form
(pause)
Can you survive in space without protection? Tolerate severe temperatures? I know
someone who can - meet the tardigrade, also known as water bears. Tardigrades are up to
2 millimeters long. They are capable of withstanding extreme conditions and are the first
known creatures to survive in space without any protection. They can handle vacuum and
pressure up to 6000 atm and temperatures higher than water boiling points (150 to 200
degrees celcius). Think you can handle more extreme? Check this out: they can hibernate
for a century, can go without food and water for nearly 10 years and can survive 100
times the radiation than any mammals. (J)
(Pause)
(M) Finally, I have an extraordinary bird I want you to meet this one is called the
lyrebird. Lyrebirds have been present on earth for millions of years; their extraordinary
factor lies in their ability to mimic all kinds of sounds natural and artificial. There are
two types of lyrebirds: superb lyrebirds mainly found in Australian forests, and Alberts
lyrebirds who are named after Queen Victorias husband Prince Albert, and are the rarer
of the two species. Lyrebirds have feathers and a voice strikingly beautiful and they have
been recorded mimicking human caused sounds such as whistle sounds to crosscut saw,
chainsaws, car engines, and alarm sounds.
Are you not in awe? I know that the world is filled with other unique extraordinary
species that we dont hear about everyday - I bet some havent even been discovered yet
but I would love to hear more about some of your favorite extraordinary creatures so
use the comments below to tell me more about them. Thanks for watching!