Page 6 - Atlas Of The World's Strangest Animals

6 ATLAS OF THE WORLD’S STRANGEST ANIMALS

Introduction

Great diving
beetle
According to a study in 2007, 1,263,186 animal species have so far been

been named and scientifically described.This includes 950,000

species of insects, 9956 birds, 8240 reptiles, 6199

amphibians and 5416 mammals.When we

consider that there are still parts of the world

that are so inhospitable no human has ever set

foot there, then it’s possible we may never know

for sure just how many species we really share

our planet with. However, what is certain is that

many of the animals we are familiar with are truly

remarkable. If we were to flick through this list of

1,263,186 species then, within it, we would find some

Tarsier of nature’s greatest curiosities: mammals that can fly and

birds that can’t; frogs as small as fingernails and birds as big as

horses. Here, we’d discover walking fish,

brainless jellies, cannibals and

camouflage experts.

Common octopus

(c) 2011 Marshall Cavendish. All Rights Reserved.