Buzz
Certain animals possess extraordinary abilities with their heads and faces. Many of these incredible feats have only recently been recognized by science.
10. Limpets Use Their Tongues Like a Power Tool
Limpets are compact, resilient marine snails. Though they don't have faces in the traditional sense, they make up for it with fearsome, jagged mouths on their undersides. Similar to other animals, limpets possess a gastropod tongue equivalent—a radula.
Much like the rough papillae that make cat tongues feel like sandpaper, the limpet’s radula is covered in sharp spines that help scrape algae. This appendage also serves as a powerful tool, functioning like a jackhammer to carve out snug niches in rocky surfaces for the limpet to occupy.
It’s worth noting that limpet teeth are nearly indestructible and have recently been recognized as the strongest biological material known to humans. When researchers broke down the adamantium-like teeth in a lab, they discovered they were laced with goethite nanofibers, making them tougher than Kevlar. This unmatched tensile strength allows limpets to continuously gnaw on rocks without damaging their teeth. The sharp spikes also maintain their durability, regardless of size, which is unusual since materials tend to weaken as they increase in size.
9. Moles Possess Stereoscopic Smelling
A mole’s nose is the one part of its body that it proudly flaunts. Despite its profound blindness and limited tactile sensitivity, common moles excel at pinpointing food sources.
To uncover how, mole expert Kenneth Catania placed food (worm pieces) around the edge of a circular “arena” where the moles were set free—first with both nostrils open, and then with one nostril blocked. Next, he inserted small tubes into each nostril and crossed them so that the moles could smell from the opposite side of their bodies. The moles fumbled around, indicating that they “smell the world in stereo”—a trait commonly associated with vision and hearing but extremely rare in the olfactory sense.
Previously, trained rats were induced to smell in stereo to detect air currents, but this ability had never been seen in nature. This groundbreaking discovery suggests that other extraordinary sniffers, like dogs, may also use this technique.
8. Vibrating Mosquito Proboscises Inspire New, Painless Needle Designs
The mosquito proboscis, one of nature's most annoying features, has found a surprising purpose by inspiring the creation of a new type of painless hypodermic needle.
While modern medical needles are designed with durability in mind rather than comfort, mosquitoes show us that it doesn't have to be that way. You’ve likely experienced the surprise of a mosquito bite, not realizing it until the itching begins.
Your blood is kept flowing by an anticoagulant, and the bite itself remains unnoticed because the mosquito’s jagged, serrated pricker barely makes contact with nerve endings. In contrast, a standard hypodermic needle roughly breaks through receptors, creating a sharp, noticeable pain. Once the mosquito reaches its target (that’s you), it widens the puncture with its two-pronged proboscis and uses a tube to suck your blood. For added efficiency, the entire apparatus vibrates to make the path smoother and less painful. How thoughtful.
7. C. Elegans Possesses a Magnetic Antenna on Its Face
It’s clear that some creatures are capable of detecting magnetic fields on Earth, but until now, scientists struggled to identify the physical structures that give them these remarkable abilities.
In June 2015, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin uncovered the secret behind this phenomenon while studying a tiny worm known as C. elegans. Inside the minuscule nematode's head, they discovered an even tinier, TV-like antenna—a surprising revelation, considering it was previously thought that soil-dwelling worms were incapable of sensing magnetic fields.
To test their hypothesis, researchers placed worms into a gel-filled tube. The local worms consistently moved downward, as if searching for food in the soil. However, worms from other parts of the world moved in directions aligned with 'down' based on Earth's magnetic field in their region of origin.
The researchers also discovered that they could control the movement of worms by adjusting the magnetic fields within the lab. They also found that a particular faulty gene makes worms unable to sense this invisible force. Future studies may reveal if other magnetically sensitive animals also have antenna-like structures embedded in their brains.
6. The King Of Saxony Bird-Of-Paradise Is The Master of Eyebrows
The uniquely named King of Saxony bird-of-paradise is home to the most magnificent eyebrows in the animal kingdom. (Let’s just call them 'Kings' for simplicity.) These erectile features, known as wires, serve no purpose other than looking spectacular and have evolved to their current form because females consistently choose males with the most impressive brows.
Even with a set of dazzling wires, males face intense pressure to capture the attention of females, so they have developed a range of talents to complement their stylish headgear. These include a bird version of interpretive dance and a series of screeching sounds that might easily be mistaken for an alien language. The birds also produce a peculiar clicking song that sounds like a mix of pattering rain and an old lawnmower.
During their elaborate mating rituals, Kings also engage in aggressive head-ruffling, erratic wire-waving, and a peculiar pumping motion most accurately described as twerking.
5. Pink Underwing Moth Larvae Sport a Literal Skullcap
The pink underwing moth may seem harmless with its smooth, bland appearance, but its juvenile form is anything but. The creepy larva starts off ugly and transforms into a disturbing, skull-faced creature. Circular spots mimic large, omniscient eyes, while a row of white markings below give it the look of sharp teeth. Its actual head, however, is well hidden, tucked safely within its brownish, fleshy body.
But here’s the twist: it’s all an act. Despite its frightening look, the larva is completely harmless and a strict herbivore. Its menacing appearance is purely for defense, meant to intimidate predators since, to be honest, it’s utterly defenseless.
This little creature spends its days quietly munching on vines found in bushes, as part of its vegan diet. Fortunately for you, it’s only found in the few undisturbed subtropical areas of Australia, where its rare food source grows, so chances are, you’ll never encounter one up close.
4. The Pinocchio Lizard Flirts with Its Phallic Nose
The Anolis proboscis, also known as the Pinocchio lizard, gave researchers a pleasant surprise when it was unexpectedly discovered in an Ecuadorian cloud forest. Once believed to be extinct, ecological adventurers from Tropical Herping had searched for three years before finding one dozing on a branch. While it was an anticlimactic discovery, it was still remarkable, especially since the searches were conducted at night; the lizard is expert at blending in during the day. It also lives high in the trees, in the most inaccessible parts of the forest.
The distinctive horn is found only on males, who use their impressive nose to attract females with exaggerated movements. However, the large horn comes with a downside; it has to be held up during feeding sessions. How they manage this is still a physiological puzzle, given that the area underneath lacks muscles. The purpose of the horn remains a mystery, and it is a feature found on only two other South American lizard species.
3. Harris’s Three-Spot Moth Larvae Use Their Old Heads as Weapons
To put it kindly, the Harris’s three-spot moth larva is one of the most repulsive creatures imaginable, and it survives by being too revolting to handle.
It’s also a master of hide-and-seek, spending the winter in hibernation much like a bear. Technically, it’s undergoing a transformation, but unlike other moth pupae that simply hang from branches, it burrows into a stump and seals itself inside with a silky cocoon, mixed with wood fragments, to camouflage itself completely.
Although it might resemble a mass of slithering, hairy waste, the most disturbing trait of this creature is its tendency to hoard seemingly useless objects—such as its very own heads. These brownish fragments, which cling to the caterpillar’s wiry hairs, are the remnants of its past molts.
In true heavy metal fashion, the severed heads are utilized as weapons—whether as blunt instruments in close combat or as projectiles at a distance. Alternatively, it may simply choose to shake its body to confuse and disorient its opponents.
2. Venomous Frogs
While certain frogs and toads are known for their toxicity, they typically rely on a more passive approach—they excrete their toxins and wait for unsuspecting creatures to come into contact with them. However, to be classified as venomous instead of poisonous, an animal must actively deliver its toxin. The Greening’s frog does exactly that, using head-butts to overpower its enemies like a rowdy soccer hooligan.
This peculiar and novel method of delivering venom is enabled by venom-dispensing barbs located on the frog’s skull. The Brunos’ casque-head frog shares this ability, making these two species the only venomous frogs ever documented.
This painful discovery was made unexpectedly when a researcher in Brazil’s arid Caatinga ecoregion scooped up an innocent-looking frog, only to spend the next five hours battling the invisible flames that seemed to be consuming his arm. Carlos Jared got lucky—he was ‘stung’ by a Greening’s frog, whose venom ranks just below that of a pit viper. On the other hand, just a gram of Brunos’ casque-headed frog venom could take down 300 men.
1. Monkeys Use Faces Like Name Tags
Monkeys are known for having the most vibrant faces in the mammal kingdom, and these colorful faces are far from mere decoration. Much like humans, monkeys use facial features to determine who is a friend and who is a foe, with these features evolving to become particularly distinctive as they navigated the pressures of living in close-knit communities.
Interestingly, it was found that an Old World monkey’s facial appearance can predict its social rank. Monkeys in larger groups tend to have more intricate face patterns, while those in smaller groups sport simpler faces. In a surprising twist, New World monkeys buck this trend, exhibiting more elaborate faces in smaller communities. Additionally, monkeys from densely vegetated tropical regions typically have darker faces, likely as a means of camouflage.
