10 Animals That Use Some Of Their Body Parts For Other Duties

The natural physical world of animals renders some of their abilities strange compared to the common physical abilities of us humans. Although humans and most animals have usual body parts such as the nose – for smelling, the mouth – for eating, or the ears – for hearing, you’d be surprised by what other animals can do with some of these body parts. We have already divulged the thorny devil’s ability to drink water with its skin [Link 1], including the Chinese turtle’s aptitude to excrete urine via its mouth [Link 2], but there’re still more animals with peculiar multifunctional body parts. On this list we divulge ten more of those animals that bizarrely use some of their body parts for other purposes, except for their actual conformity duties.

10. Hagfish

Believed to be the oldest connection to the first vertebrates, the ocean dwellers – hagfish, may be subject of an astonishing evolution of animals. Their tube-like bodies resemble electric Eels, hence their other name – slimy eels, was appropriately acknowledged for them. Although they lack an ability to produce electricity like Eels, they do comprise an odd ability involving their feeding habit. While some predatory aquatic animals hunt to kill, hagfish hunt the already-dead, but even more revolting, they prefer decaying dead animals. When encountering a carcass or a dying animal deep underwater, a hagfish burrow and snuggles itself into the cavity of its body. After that, akin to what most predatory animals do, it opens its mouth and start feasting. But it has another consume alternative. It can also eat without using its mouth! A staggering discovery revealed that hagfish can absorb nutrients through their skin and gills [Link 3]. Once inside a carcass, their bodies are encircled by a high concentration of dissolved nutrients.

How dissolved substances cross the hagfish’s skin and gills remained a mystery until physiologist, Chris Glover of the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, and colleagues concluded an experiment to solve the obscurity [Link 4]. They used skin and gill tissue taken from hagfish and stretched it out in a flask containing a seawater-like solution on one side and a solution resembling hagfish’s own bodily fluids on the other. To determine how permeable the skin was, they dissolved radioactive amino acids and sugars, then put it in the seawater sample, including food coloring. After a couple of hours, the skin became radioactive and started absorbing the amino acids. However, the skin did not absorb the food coloring, suggesting that it only selects nutritious detritus. But given that they can uptake nutrients with their skin and gills, imbibing fluids in this similar method wouldn’t be exceptional. So just like the thorny devil, they might also be able to drink water with their skin.



9. The Zombie Worm

Of all the recently discovered worm species, Osedax – also known as “the bone-eating zombie worm”, could perhaps have the most unique ability compared to most species of worms. Osedax is latin for “bone devourer”, befitting as a name for this unusual species. Implausibly, they have no mouth, gut, or anus, but yet they feast on whale bones; sometimes even fish bones. This bewildered scientists as to how they consume nutrients from the bones after close analysis failed to find any intrinsic abrasive structure they could use to mechanically bore or even scratch a bone. Only speculations could be made, until a factual explanation was presented after more inspections. It turned out that the worms can spew acid that dissolves bones [Link 5]. The acid is produced by proton pumps, which are cells containing the protein abundantly in the front end of the worm’s body.

Since they have no mouth and anus, there must be an alternative method of consuming and excreting waste. And while an implicit theory indicates that they do use alternative body parts for consuming and excreting waste, the precise mechanism of doing so is yet obscure.

The zombie worms spend the vast majority of their lives feasting on whale bones, obliterating the final remains of the biggest marine mammals into dust.



8. The California Sea Cucumber

In the oceans, there are a few animals named after vegetables; sea cucumbers are one of them. We have mentioned them a couple of times for different reasons, especially here [Link 6], and there [Link 7]. However, if you think their appearance is fairly remarkable, you might consider the California sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus) alternative feeding habits as a trait beyond the extraordinary. Other than its completely unique appearance, a more bizarre recently discovered trait has been its eating habit: it eats using its anus [Link 8]. Yes, you read that right. And oh, if that doesn’t sound beyond normal, here’s another implausible addition to the trait: it also breathes through its butt!

Visualizing yourself with your pants down in a restaurant relishing aesthetically on a plate of cuisine would be crazy. But that would be normal if you were in the public territory of California sea cucumbers. The first intimation that the sea cucumber anus was doing multiple duties was derived from a structure called “rete mirabile”. This is a set of indispensable blood vessels adhere to the sea cucumber’s respiratory trees with its gut. It was inferred that the rete mirabile was used to transfer oxygen from the respiratory trees to the gut. But if the California sea cucumbers were consuming food via their anus, they would likely use the rete mirabile to transfer the food to the gut. To confirm the idea, scientists had to look at tissue samples under the microscope. After observations of the tissue samples, they discovered more evidence that P. calinornicus was using its anus as a second mouth. They found pieces of recently consumed algae and iron in the respiratory trees near the anus. In addition, the P. californicus’s respiratory trees had small, finger-like protuberances known as microvilli that were found in the gut, which assist with nutrient absorption.



7. Frogs

Anurans are common species of semi-aquatic animals, but there’s more about their standard of living than their common aspects and reputed eccentric mythical legends. Unlike other animals that grasp prey animals with their mouths and swallow it normally, it appears frogs and toads do it differently. When grasping to their prey, they retract their eyes and close them repeatedly. Eye retraction is the mechanism of which contribute to their swallowing process [Link 9] – serving to anchor the prey for tongue-based transport.

During swallowing, their eyes and associated musculature retract into the oropharynx, making direct contact with the prey item in the mouth to help push it toward the throat. It is the first time a vertebrate was monitored using its eyes to aid swallowing its prey. We only knew a few commoners with retractile organs, like snails which can retract themselves into their shells, turtles with retractable heads, and the felines with retractable claws. Since eyes are considered to be some of the most sensitive organs of the body, this is an ability conveyed to the traits of peculiarity.


6. Hoosier Cavefish

Discovered in Southern Indiana and named after the “Indiana Hoosiers” basketball team, the eyeless and newly discovered Hoosier cavefish features astounding aspects of implicit oddity. The fish, scientifically described as Amblyopsis Hoosieri, proved to be among the discoveries of rarity as it is the first described species of its unique kind found in North America in 40 years. It’s also related to another species of cavefish known as Amblyopsis spelaea. Both the species are conformed to the darkness of caves due to their blindness.

Surprisingly, the Hoosier cavefish fish’s anus is located at the back of its head [Link 10], purporting that it uses its head to poop. As we humans are accustomed of relieving ourselves using our butts – which are located at the back our bodies, imagining bending our heads backwards to poop would rather be awkward. The reason for this strange location of the Hoosier cavefish’s anus is not discernible. It’s only suggested that the location of their anus may aid the females to get their eggs into the chamber for proper incubation. The bad news is they’re already endangered because of ground water pollution, quarrying, and overly collected specimens for scientific studies and commercial cave tours [Link 11]. While we can agree that an equitable criterion against the injurious endangerment of these cavefish is indubitably necessary, we can only hope for an action to avert the potential deed of their extinction.



5. Dendogrammas

Upon their discovery in 1988, some dubbed them Alien mushrooms [Link 12], others – mushroom-likes creatures, but perhaps the most befitting appellation for these strange organisms is “sea mushrooms”. Except these relevant nicknames, the confirmed scientific names of their two bifurcated species are Dendogramma enigmatic and Dendogramma discords [Link 13]. They were discovered offshore Australia in a mix of seawater and sediment scooped from 1,000 meters below the ocean surface. Their characteristics are extremely unique to existing classification systems, which incited scientists to create a new phylum of hierarchy to classify them. The one prominent trait that garnered a spot for them on this list involves a single gut at the bottom of their stems. Oddly, the gut is used both for consuming and excreting waste, making it a body part used for two opposite duties.

More is unknown about these ocean-dwelling creatures. Their DNA and cells that researchers could have derived genetic data from were preserved by chemicals which the seawater and sediment scoop contained. Without genetic information, it’s impossible to determine how they’re related to other animals. Jean Just, a scientist credited for their discovery, concluded the creatures bear a striking resemblance to life-forms that vanished more than 500 million years ago. He also inferred that the creatures could be related to cternophores and cnidarians, but they still lack many key characteristics that define cternophores and cnidarians.



4. The Swallowtail Butterfly

In the class of insects, butterflies could have the most salient appearance compared to all, especially with their beautiful variety of colors. Beautiful as many other species are the swallowtail butterflies [Link 14], with one ability that contrast and departs their egg laying feat from their own kind. Amazingly, the swallowtail can taste with its legs [Link 15]. Every plant it lands on – it can taste it. And although tasting is usually done for appraising nibbles of culinary, swallowtails taste plants to determine which leaves offer their eggs the best chance of survival.

Except locomotion to get around, legs can be used for other common duties as well – like kicking and dancing for us humans. Employing them on culinary or any foliage surface for tasting – like swallowtails do, would almost be supernatural for us. But all living creatures have their own inherent and competence abilities for surviving difficult circumstances in their environmental scope. Since we (humans) don’t lay eggs on plants, we’ll have no actual purpose for such ability. It’s only inequitable that only swallowtails do it, and not all butterfly species since they all lay eggs on surfaces among the foliages.



3. Sea Anemones

With an appearance like those of plants – that and the fact that they’re also half plants and half animals [Link 16], sea anemones are fairly counted among many odd aquatic organisms. They share an affinity of hierarchy with jellyfish and corals. Because of their distinctive features that resemble the foliages, distinguishing between their common body parts normally found in humans and other animals can be difficult. Like dendogrammas, sea anemones have no anus. They have only one opening known as their mouth, used for two antithesis duties – eating and excreting waste [Link 17]. Additionally, they also intake oxygen and excrete carbon-dioxide via their body cells. What is their mouth is also used to poop, and what is generally used for breathing – a nose (that they lack), its duty is done by their body cells. Excreting carbon-dioxide (or farting) – a duty normally done by the anus, is also done by their body cells. Incredible, isn’t it? It certainly is. However, the pivotal mechanism of inhalation and exhalation, including the excretion of carbon-dioxide, is due to their lack of true respiration system.



2. The tiny Swedish Worm

As nature still deviates the reach of climax on anomalous discoveries, the orbital sphere of science is still defied by its mysterious oddities upon inspection. The tiny Swedish worm (Xenoturbella bocki), which scientists knew a little of their embryology and reproduction, is an example of anomalous discoveries that presented even more mysteries of nature. The worm is eyeless and brainless, with a simply organized and unsegmented flat body measuring about 2-3 cm. Also, it has no sex organs and vital organs, and has an affinity to the sea anemones and dendogrammas as its mouth (located in the middle of its belly) is used for both consuming and excreting waste [Link 18]. With its cilia-covered body that is slightly tapered at both ends, it’s structured purposefully to aid its ability to budge around on the seabed off the coast of Sweden, Scotland, and Iceland.

The worm is regarded by some scientists as a key biological link between many species. And although its striking feature is its mouth that acts as an anus, further studies led scientists to believe the worm is also our very own origin as it’s a distant progenitor of us humans [Link 19]. So despite its miniscule size, the worm might be our very own cousin, but this has also been the cause of a censorious debate among the world’s evolutionary scientists.  Previously, it was also believed that the worm has evolved backwards over the years from a more sophisticated original form. The destitute of its anus and gut led its crucial body part – “the mouth”, to have multi-duties, making its mechanism of consuming and excreting waste rather revolting. We can only wonder if it can frequently rinse out the feces left in its mouth with its habitted water for reversion.



1. The southern grastic-brooding frog

The southern grastic-brooding frog (Rheobatrachus silus) was discovered in 1972, imminently prior to meeting an unfortunate fate of extinction. As a newly discovered amphibian of anuran species, its discovery was yet conspicuous. But in 1974, the southern grastic brooding frog started thrusting scientists’ attention after a bizarre strategy of their reproductive mode was discovered [Link 20]. They found that the females swallow the early larvae or eggs for their completion of development to take place in their stomach. But upon doing so, they cease producing hydrochloric acid, rendering their digestive system inactive to circumvent digesting their own young. Throughout the development, the larvae rely on slime reserves, until 20-25 tadpoles hatch inside the stomach and continue to grow over the next six weeks. During all that time, the mother doesn’t eat. Also, the inhibited digestive secretions of the stomach cause the lungs to collapse, forcing her to breathe through her skin. Eventually, she gives birth to her brood where by the fully formed metamorphs emerge from her mouth.

Unsurprisingly, this rendered other scientists incredulous before it was acknowledged as a fact. For the female southern grastic brooding frogs to convert their stomach into a womb, then give birth through their mouths, purports that two of their body parts are used for completely different bizarre purposes. Being able to breathe through its skin is an addition. And although their extinction yielded their fall to oblivion, Mike Archer, a scientist from the University of New South Wales, and his team is already attempting to resurrect them [Link 21]. For now, they have only revived their genome by using sophisticated scientific cloning techniques. This was done in a process of implanting their dead cell nucleus into fresh egg cells of their closely related species, the great barred frog.

10 Bizarre Animals That Look Like Plants

We may think we're familiar with all the appellations of bizarre animals existing on our planet, but as new animal discoveries are made, we still get stroked with astonishment. From terrestrial, aquatic, and amphibious animals, there are some odd species with inconceivable appearances similar to those of plants. But others don't just have similar appearances like those of plants, they also have similar behavioral adaptations of plants. While the appearance of some categorically makes them intriguing—they can also be inconspicuous to predators looking to feed on them. Their spontaneous plant-like appearance can even make us mistake them as plants, but others have salient features that can still make us recognize them as animals.



10. Ramisyllis Multicaudata

The Branching Sponge Worm—scientifically identified as "Ramisyllis multicaudata", is undoubtedly one of the most bizarre worm species that exist. It inhabits the shallow waters of the Northern Coast in Australia. But finding one can be very hard because they live inside sea sponges, and even if you see one, if you don't know the creature, you won't even speculate that it's a worm. As innocuous and delicate as they are, leaving the sea sponges will only put them in precarious situations, thus staying concealed in them all their lives safeguards them from predators. But they can't leave the sea sponges, even if they wanted to. They have an indefinite number of bodies in the form of treelike branches that follow the many channels in the sea sponge. The branches can also propagate many sub-branches when they grow, and those sub-branches also propagate more branches, leading to a point the worm ending up with hundreds or even thousands of extremities. What is more unbelievable about its branches is that they're branching from a single head which lies deep within the interior of the sea sponge. Its indefinite number of branches can poke through holes in the sponge's surface. Except looking like tree branches, its body is also similar to a network of roots that grow incessantly.



9. Star-Nosed Mole

All the animals around the world are diverse, and there are many animals with odd noses that suggest the origin of their names. We have the Bottle-Nose fish—also called the Elephant-Nose. We also have the Bottle-Nose Dolphins, Long-Nosed Chimaeras, etc. All these appellations already give us the idea of how their noses look like. The Star-Nosed Mole was obviously given its name because its nose looks like a star. However, its nose is also similar to coral-colored flowers, and when the mole pokes out of the ground, it's almost as if it's a coral plant.

Yes, Moles are hideous animals—we've heard that a couple of times, but if you learn more about their extraordinary abilities, you will not only be astonished by their ugly appearance. They have amazing appendages, and their coral-colored flower-like or star-looking nose is made up of 22 fleshes of tentacles. These tentacles can detect and gulp down prey with astonishing speed. That even explains why they're the fastest eating animals in the world. As virtually blind as they are, they use their tentacles to survey their murky marshland habit. When they search for prey underwater, they blow bubbles, about 5-10 bubbles per second, which are blown to touch the surface of that prey. When the bubbles come into contact with the prey, the odorant molecules that impart smell mix with the air inside the bubbles and, with the same speed—they immediately suck the bubbles back into their nostrils. It's a remarkable technique they use to smell their targets underwater. When they find something that could be food, they identify it, simultaneously—they decide if it's edible; if it is, they eat it—all in just a quarter of a second. If you can imagine how quickly a second is for a predator to identify something, capture it, and eat it, it's unimaginable if all that is done in a quarter of that second. It makes it impossible for them to improve their prey-capturing speed by doing it much faster than they do.



8. Jelly Flower Hat

Jellyfishes are known for their bizarre jelly-like bodies that are transparent, but there are other jellyfish species out there in the ocean that we've never seen before. The Jelly Flower Hat, scientifically known as Olindias Formosa, is certainly one of them. It's a rare species of jellyfish. They can only be found primarily in the waters off Brazil, Argentina, and southern Japan. Their conservative status is currently unknown because they live close to the ocean floor, although sometimes they do occasionally rise to the surface. Unlike other jellyfish species that are transparent, Jelly Flower Hats are different because their bellies are translucent and pinstriped with opaque bands. Their bodies are their most appealing feature, with striking colors varying from mixes of: blue, pink, orange, purple, yellow, and green. They look like colorful neon flowers with hats on them—or hats with flowers on them (hence the name). Another peculiar aspect about them is that they have no head, brain, heart, cartilage or real eyes, but to all crustaceans and small fishes, they're still the most feared predators. They have shiny tentacles that coil and adhere to the edge when in use. Underneath them, they have other longer tentacles that have stinging cells called mematocysts, which all cnidarians have. These tentacles are what they use to attack prey. When they're seen among other colorful plants of the ocean, it's easy to mistake them as plants. However, they're not as big as they seem in the image. They only grow about 6 inches in diameter.



7. Coral (Anthozoa)

You will be startled if you see strange plants deep in the ocean, but it's nothing compared to how stunned will you be when realizing that they're actually animals. Class Anthozoa, also referred as anthozoans, is the largest class of cnidarians. Coral Animals are also included in that class. They are generally brightly colored cnidarians with a plant-like appearance. Unlike most animals mentioned on this list, corals appear to be half animals and half plants according to how they live and how they look like. What is more interesting about corals is that all their species are unique, but still, they all look like plants. The coral animal species that look exactly like plants include the Plate corals, Bamboo corals, Primnoid corals, Hydrocorals, Tube Sponge corals, Lettuce corals, Ivory Bush corals, Elkhorn corals, and Staghorn corals. But there are more out there. Currently, there are around 70,000 different species of coral found throughout the ocean of the world. They also use the photosynthesis process just like plants. But they're also carnivorous animals, so except getting food with the photosynthesis process, they hunt for prey. On their tentacles, they have stinging cells which they use to paralyze small fish and animals such as planktons.



6. Leafy Sea Dragon

Leafy Sea Dragons are known as some of the most ornately camouflaged creatures on the planet. They don't look almost like plants, they look exactly like plants. With their gossamer leaf-like fins and frilly appendages over their entire bodies, you would swear that they are plants. Their small dorsal and leaf-like pectoral fins are transparent, and they use them to propel and steer themselves awkwardly through the water. Despite their fearsome name, they're not wild or harmful to other marine mammals. They don't even have teeth; instead of biting, they suck their food down their long tube-snout, just like seahorses and piper-fish. Their tube-like mouths work like drinking straws, and they can slurp up thousands of prey each day. Tiny crustaceans such as mysids and sea lice are their diet, but it's not known if they're preyed upon by other animals. They're nearly impossible to spot among the plants as they slowly sway back and forth with the current. Only two species of sea dragon exist, which is, the Leafy Sea Dragon and the Weedy Sea Dragon.



5. Pale Tussock Moth

The Pale Tussock Moth is one of the largest caterpillars of its own kind. It's usually green in color, making it hard to be noticed when it has concealed itself in the grass or bush of flowers with varying colors. It's the most colorful and beautiful caterpillar we have ever seen, with no blemishes degrading its look. Because of its salient colors and hairy flower-like appearance, where the plants are green is its habitat environment, and also because it feeds on green plants. Their diet also includes lime, oak, hazel, birch, and elms. Although non-evergreen plants lose their beautiful appearance because of the changing seasons, the Pale Tussock Moth's seemingly resplendent spontaneous colors remain stagnant. The adults are sexually dimorphic, while the females are generally larger than the males and plain in form. They are common in England and Wales, and also found local in Ireland.



4. Sea Anemone

Sea Anemones are included in the class Anthozoa. They're close relatives of corals and jellyfish. Just like corals, when seen in the picture, the average person who doesn't know them could actually think they're plants. They were also named after the equally flashy terrestrial anemone flower. Although they look like plants, they're classified as animals. However, recent scientific studies revealed that they're also half plant and half animal. They have cylindrical bodies which are made of adhesive pedal discs, including arrays of branching tentacles surrounding their mouths. Their tentacles are filled with venom and have stingers that inject their paralyzing venom into the prey. The defenseless prey is dragged by their tentacles into their mouths.

Throughout the world's ocean at various depths, there are more than 1,000 sea anemone species that exist. The largest and most varied sea anemones occur in coastal tropical waters. Like their coral relatives, sea Anemones establish symbiotic relationship with green algae. They get food from the algae's photosynthesis; in exchange, the Anemones provide safe harbor for the algae, including exposure to sunlight.



3. Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko

We've learned about the enthralling beauty of animals similar to beautiful and colorful plants on this list; the satanic leaf-tailed gecko, however, is not pretty at all. But it does look very much like a plant. It's a small reptile with large eyes and a body that superbly mimics a dead leaf. What makes it unique is that it doesn't have a colorful and beautiful appearance. It is mottled brown, and some species have small black dots on the underside. Their entire bodies are twisted, with a veined skin and a tail that makes them look like they have been nibbled at by insects and rotted by decay. This strange appearance that they have helps them blend into the foliage of their habitat.

When it comes to avoiding predators, the satanic leaf-tailed gecko is an expert. Its leaf-like appearance is also included in their expertise of avoiding predatory animals. But there are other things they can do. Like one, for example, they can flatten their bodies against the substrate to reduce their shadows, including opening their jaws wide to show a frightening, bright red mouth, while shedding their tails to trick predators.



2. Sea Cucumber

Sea cucumbers are dwellers of the ocean, and some live in the shallow waters. Because of their name, if you're unfamiliar with these them, you could actually think they're cucumber vegetables that grow underwater, but they are not vegetables. They're omnivore animals that belong to the echinoderms family that include starfish and sea urchins. The name "sea cucumber" was given to them because they literally look like soft-bodied cucumbers. However, some species differ in shapes, appearance, and sizes, but most of them still look like cucumbers. Some species live near the bottom of the ocean, and some can partially bury themselves beneath it. Tiny particles of algae and minute aquatic animals are their diet, and sometimes they can also feed on waste materials. But they themselves are prey to fish and other aquatic animals, and they're also enjoyed by humans in Asia—where various species are farmed as delicacies. Their feet, which look like tentacles, are what they use to gather their food in their mouths.



1. Dendrogramma

Dendrogrammas are newly discovered mushroom-shaped alien-like animals. They were found in the collection of organisms dredged up during the 1980's at depths of 400-1,000 meters deep in the ocean of the south-east Australian continental slope. Only two species of these strange organisms were discovered, which scientists named Dendrogramma enigmatica and Dendrogramma discoides. They are made up of an outer skin and inner stomach separated by a thick layer of jellylike substance. It's suspected they might be related to ancient instinct life forms that lived 600 million years ago. Both two species have a single opening at the base of their stem where food goes in and waste material goes out. In the cap of these mushroom-like creatures, there's a gastrovascular tube that branches into a series of canals. They could not be categorized in any existing phylum, and they could represent a new, non-bilateral phylum in the kingdom "Animalia".

Now that we have two ocean-dwelling animals named after vegetables, namely "sea cucumbers" and the "sea mushrooms", perhaps researchers could discover sea cabbage-like animals and name them "sea cabbages".