Patricia Holden MD|

I’m taking a break from all that medicine-related mumbo-jumbo to talk about some weird stuff (again). I’m sure you all know what mammals are. Usually, members of a certain “class” of animals have things in common like egg-laying for birds or live birth for mammals. There are however some characteristics of some of the members that make them stand out. Here are some strange mammals and what makes them so.

Sloths - Sloths have a flat head, big eyes, a short snout, and tiny ears. They also have long legs and a stubby tail. But what makes them different from other mammals? Most mammals have seven cervical vertebrae. Two-toes sloths only have six and three-toes sloths have nine. What also makes them weird is their physical capabilities and behavior in general. Sloths can only move one and a half meter every 5 minutes. How slow is that? Also, they spend most of their lives hanging on a branch sleeping for 15-18 hours (although later studies say that they only sleep for around 10 or so hours). They go down only once a week to urinate and other “calls of nature”. Their young also cling to the mother’s fur but often fall off. The good thing is, they are rather tough and don’t die from falls. However, if a predator is waiting below, then there’s a good chance that the young will get eaten.

Platypus - The platypus is one strange creature. It is the only mammal that has webbed feet and a rubber snout whice makes it look closer to a duck than anything than anything else. The webbed feet is folded back when walking on land and is more prominent on its front feet. Its jaw is also different from most mammals along with its jaw muscles. It’s movement is also different as its body is like a reptile that has the legs on the sides rather than underneath.

Bats - Bats are the only flight capable mammals with the forelimbs developed in to wings rather than legs or arms. They are similar to rodents so they are often called “flying mice”. They have poorly developed sight and track prey using a process called echolocation. Basically, they emit high-pitched sounds and listen to the echoes similar to the technology used in submarines. They use sonar to locate their prey instead of by locating them visually.

Armadillos - Armadillo is Spanish for “little armored one”. True to its name, the armadillo is a mammal with a bony armor shell which it uses for defense against predators. They are good diggers and use their sharp claws to dig for food and create dens. Like bats, they have poor vision. Their armor is formed by plates of dermal bone covered in relatively small, overlapping epidermal scales called scutes, which is composed of bone with a covering of horn. They have rigid shields over the shoulders and hips, with a number of bands separated by flexible skin covering the back and flanks.The armor covers the top of the head, the upper parts of the limbs, and the tail.

Whales - When I was younger, I thought dolphins and whales were fish. They don’t have gills and breathe through their lungs which make them different from fish. Although they look like fish with flippers and tail fins, they have mammary glands (which makes them mammals) which they use to feed their young with milk. It is believed that whales, along with dolphins and porpoises, are descendants of land-walkers. Although it may be hard to believe, this weird mammal have been discovered to have hind-leg bones which serve no purpose and serve as an object of curiosity among scientists, making many believe that they have evolved from land-living mammals or would evolve into one. It would be scary to imagine whales walking on land though.

I’ve been writing (or should that be typing?) about another jellyfish post earlier when my daughter came up to me and mentioned how beautiful they are. Having been stung by jellyfish before, the memory of the incident actually caused me to view them in a different way. However, thanks to my daughter’s comment, I became open to the idea of simply listing a few of the more beautiful jellyfishes I’ve seen.

Aequorea Victoria - A bioluminescent jellyfish. They are commonly found in Puget Sound, Washington State. Adult Aequorea victoria reach about 5 to 10 cm in diameter and live to around 6 months or less. They feed primarily on soft-bodied prey including other jellyfishes, ctenophores, and appendicularians. The luminescent protein and their fluorescent molecule have been cloned by scientists to produce a similar effect in other plants and animals.

Aurelia Aurita - Also called the moon jellyfish or saucer jellyfish. Simply look at the picture and you would see how it got its nickname. They can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Ocean and are the most common species of the genus Aurelia. It is only capable of limited motion and drifts along with the current. It feeds by stinging small plankton and mollusks with its tentacles and then bringing them to the body for digestion by contracting its tentacles in a corkscrew like manner. It is considered as food in countries such as China, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Chironex fleckeri - Known for its highly venomous sting, the box jellyfish Chironex fleckeri is one of the most dangerous jellyfish around. It is said that it can kill 60 adult humans in as little as 3 minutes. It is is the largest of the cubozoans, and is pale blue in color. What makes it extremely dangerous is it’s color which makes it virtually undetectable by swimmers. The only creature known to be immune to their stings are their predators - sea turtles. They can be found mostly near northern Australia and sometimes near Southeast Asia.

Chrysaora colorata - Also called the purple-striped jelly. It can be found mostly off the coast of California. Its body, known for the radial pattern of its stripes, can grow to around 70 centimeters in diameter. Even though it is not shown in the picture, it has 8 long tentacles and 4 shorter ones at the center.

Pelagia noctiluca - Also known as Mauve Stingers. Its name, Pelagia noctiluca was formed from the Greek words Pelagia meaning “of the sea”, nocti meaning “night”, and luca meaning “light” - in other words, its name refers to a sea creature that lights up in the dark. It can be found in warm temperate waters like the Mediterranean sea but there have also been sightings near Hawaii. According to one report back in November 21, 2007: an enormous 10-square mile swarm of billions of these jellyfish wiped out a 100,000-fish salmon farm in Northern Ireland. These days, mauve stingers are treated as a menace by mediteranean resort owners. Read about it here.