10 most Terrifying Animals on Earth

Terror and dangers are two words we as humans have always been confronted since time immemorial. Although God created each of the living species in their own splendid form and left them to live in harmony, it’s not uncommon to hear incidents of fights and deaths occurred between them for their own existence and in the fight to survive and be the part of their respective food chains. From Vampire bats to the box jellyfishes you will get an idea of the world’s most terrifying, malignant and abominable creatures. Feel free to add more terrifying animals in the comments section, since I am sure to have missed a lot. But there’s one thing you won’t miss and that’s we (humans) in this list at the very top.

10. Vampire Bats

The finger sized (or even shorter) common vampire bat is one of the most dangerous animals one can find. They feed completely on blood of cattle and other animals, but they are known to attack humans too. With their sharp incisors and canines they are known to attack animals at the night and suck whatever blood that comes out. The blood sucked does not harm the host cattle or horse but the infections can be extremely lethal. These small looking mammals reside in colonies of approximately 100 bats. Let me end with a scary fact about these bats- a typical colony of 100 bats can drink out the total blood of 25 cows in a single year. Enough to make them nasty, huh?

9. The Black Widow

Much like its name, this spider is gruesome, and full of dark powers (venom). Out of all the dangerous spiders present in world, this North American native wins the race. The neurotoxin venom that it releases into its prey is enough to cause abdominal and back pain, abdominal muscle cramps, delayed breathing, high blood pressure, restlessness, and, in some cases, death. Small in size like a paper clip and having an hour glass impression on it black body, this spider is notoriously famous for their bloodthirsty courtship. Scary Fact: Their venom is 15 times more dangerous than rattle snakes and bites done to small children are almost fatal.

8. Wolves

Blame the Twilight Saga or the other werewolf movies but one thing is for sure- wolves never transform into humans, whether they hunt humans is a question to ask. Well wolves are the most gruesome and malignant animals present in the animal world. They are famous for their “woo-hu” calls which can send shivers down your spine if heard from close quarters. They live in packs and attack in packs. Although they are seldom heard to attack humans, they generally attack cattle and domestic animals. The Grey wolf is the largest member of the dog family and can rip its opposition with its strong jaws and sharp teeth. Scary fact: Cannibalism is very common in wolves, and they also eat their prey alive.

7. Sharks

These animals were made infamous by people at Hollywood. Accuse the movie “jaws”, since scientists disagree on the fact that these creatures attack humans. Shark attacks on human are very rare and almost unreported. But still one cannot underestimate these carnivorous creatures. With razor like sharp teeth and topping the scales in terms of weight, size and power they are the undefeated champs of the deep seas. They have an extremely well developed sense of smell and can even detect electromagnetic waves. Scary fact: Great whites can detect one drop of blood in 25 gal (100 L) of water and can sense even tiny amounts of blood in the water up to 3 mi (5 km) away.

6. Lions

Well the king of the jungle definitely deserves a place in the top 10. With weights upto 500 lbs these animals are the last one you would want to meet in the wild. Although feeding primarily on cattle, deer, and other animals of the jungle, lions have time and again been reported to have human meals. The African lion is considered to be the most dangerous for its brutal strength and team tactics. Lions are the only cats which work as a team to bring down much larger preys in the wild. Generally staying in groups called prides, the female of the species are the primary hunters. A typical pride may have 3 males, a dozen females and their cubs. And please don’t get cute impressions of lions from what you see in Madagascar or The Lion King, they are nowhere close to it. Scary fact: In 1898, a pair of lions reportedly ate 135 people working on a railroad in Kenya.

5. Polar bears

The polar bears are classic predators that typically do not fear humans. Roaming around the Arctic Circle they are very skilful swimmers and posses large webbed front paws. Feeding primarily on seals and other aquatic fishes, these giants are the undefeated masters of their habitat. The bear’s stark white fur provides camouflage in the polar areas but beneath these furs they have a typical black bear skin which helps in absorption of sunlight. Impressive and attractive looking, these are undaunted, malignant predators much opposite to their projected image. Scary fact: The bite strength of polar bears is one of the greatest around 1,000 psi(over 450 kgs), they can crush out the skull in a single bite. Take that!

4. Crocodiles

With an average size of 17 feet and weight of 1,000 pounds the salt water crocodiles are the largest living crocodilians. Classic opportunistic predators, these are excellent swimmers too. Primarily feeding on water buffaloes, monkeys, boars and even sharks they are infamous for their reputation as a man-eater. With weights up to 2,200 pounds and sizes upto20 feet, these are not only the largest but also the most dangerous reptiles on earth. Originally an Australian inhabitant, but they are now also found in freshwater regions of Southeast Asia and eastern India. Scary fact: in April 2007 in a Taiwanese zoo, an incompletely sedated saltwater crocodile ripped off a veterinarian’s forearm.

3. Black Mamba

This native of the savannas and eastern Africa are the longest venomous, lethal snakes in the world. With sizes up to 14 ft and good running speeds of up to 12.5 mile per hour, they not only hunt with great precision but also for escaping threats. When in danger this aggressive snake raise their heads, sometimes even one-thirds of their body, open up their cobra like flaps and hiss and bite. They are called black (although they are brown in color) because of the color of their inner mouth which is blue-black. Scary fact: a 10 mg sample of its venom is enough to kill a human adult. The venom releases neurotoxins/cardiotoxins into the blood which can kill a person in 20 minutes if not administered with an immediate antidote.

2. Box Jellyfish

Remember Will Smith starrer –“7 Pounds” movie, wherein he uses his pet jellyfish to kill himself? Yeah I bet you do- meet the world’s most dangerous venom possessor- the box jellyfish. They can kill their prey- fishes, shrimps or even accidental human beings swimming around with its powerful sting which sends the prey into a shock, and die with heart/multi organs failure within few seconds. These abominable creatures are also called sea wasps and marine stingers owing to their powerful stinging system. They are more developed than the other jellyfishes and have developed features of swimming rather than just floating. Scary fact: Each tentacle has about 5,000 stinging cells, which are triggered by a chemical on the outer layer of the prey.

1.  Humans

Yes you’re reading it right baby, we are living in the 21st century where men may kill men without reasons, with no sense of danger, and with great precision and accuracy. What is more dangerous to men than the next man who stays in his close proximity? From thefts, robberies, terrorists activities and world wars men have been known to do it all for their own selfish reasons rather than the hunger and self-protection that drives other animals to hunt. Albert Einstein once remarked-“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” Humans harm, hurt and kill for their own sake of stupidity. A zoo in some part of the world has a mirror at its entrance and a nearby billboard that reads-“You, are the world’s most dangerous animal. Look after yourself and don’t harm the other animals”.

10 Smallest living creatures on Earth

We are surrounded by a lot of living and non living creatures. Living creatures are the ones that are made up of cells and need food, air and water to survive and are of different shapes and sizes. They can be unicellular or multi cellular. They are capable of responding to changes and have the ability to move from one place to another. No living creature is immortal and someday or the other every living creature have to die. Moreover, living creatures have the ability to reproduce either directly or indirectly. Living creatures thus possess following characteristics such as they can breathe or respire and have to feed and excrete, have the capability to move, reproduce and grow and are sensitive to changes around them and have the potential to adapt themselves according to those changes. Living creatures can be of different sizes ranging from a few micrometers to thousands of meters. This article gives us the list of the smallest living creatures as per the size that can be found on earth.

10. SEA URCHIN – ECHINOCYAMUS SCABER (6 mm)

Sea urchins belong to the class of Echinoidea and are the species that live in oceans at the depth of around 5000 meters. They are very tiny animals that are globular in shape and possess a spiny and round shell. They exist in many colors such as green, blue, red, purple, olive and shades of brown. There exists around 950 species of sea urchins of varying sizes having a shell ranging from 3 to 10 cm. Their movement is very slow and they usually feed on algae. They may sometimes also be called as hedgehogs. The smallest sea urchin that is found is Echinocyamus scaber which possess a shell of only 6 mm in size. This sea urchin is the tenth smallest living creature that is found on earth.

9. STARFISH – PATIRIELLA PARVIVIPARA (5 mm)

Starfish which is sometimes also known as sea stars belongs to the class of Asteroidea. They are found in oceans all over the world, usually at the depth of around 6000 meters or more. Their shape is like that of a star having a circular disc at the centre with five arms surrounding it. Some star fishes possess more than five arms. They are found in many colors such as red, blue, orange, brown or grey. They have the ability to regenerate their arms and can reproduce in both ways be it sexually or asexually. They feed on a specific prey and thus are also known as opportunistic feeders. Their life cycle is considered to be a complex one. There exist many star fishes having various sizes but the smallest among them is Patiriella Parvivipara which is 5mm in size. It is usually found in South Australia on granite rocks. Patiriella Parvivipara is usually yellow – orange in color.

8. SEA CUCUMBER – PSAMMOTHURIA GANAPATII (4 mm)

Sea cucumbers are marine animals that belong to the glass of Holothuroidea. They possess an elongated body that resembles like that of leather and contains a single and branched sex gland. They are found in oceans all over the world and mostly in the Asia Pacific region. They are even consumed by humans and may even be cultivated. They send hormone signals to communicate with each other. They are found in varying sizes ranging from 10 to 30 centimeters in length but the smallest among these is Psammothuria ganapatii which is 4mm in length and is usually found on the coast of India between sand grains.

7. BEETLES – SCYDOSELLA MUSAWASENSISIS (300 μm)

Beetles are classified under insects and have two pair of wings. Beetles can survive in almost all kind of environment except that in marine and cold regions. They have the ability to feed on any kind of diet be it flesh, waste, fungi, plants and many more. There are around forty thousand species of beetles that can be found all over the world having varying sizes. The smallest beetle that exists is Scydosella musawasensis which is of Nanosellini tribe and is 300 micrometer in length. Scydosella musawasensisis is the smallest non parasitic beetle that can be found across the world.

6. ERIOPHYIDAE (125 to 250 μm)

Eriophyidae is a plant parasite which causes damage to the plant tissues. There are around 36 hundred species of Eriophyidae and many more are still yet to be discovered. They are usually yellow, pink or purple in color and have two leg pairs. They resemble worms and usually spread their population with the help of wind. Though they are plant parasites, but some of them are also used to control invasive plant and weeds. They are found in different sizes ranging from 125 to 250 micrometer.

5. CRUSTACEAN – STYGOTANTULUS STOCKI (94 μm)

Crustaceans are free living animals that may be either aquatic or terrestrial or parasitic. There are around 67 thousand species of crustaceans of varying sizes. They form an important part of the food chain and are also consumed by the humans. Stygotantulus stocki is the smallest species of crustaceans that belongs to the Tantulocarida which is a specialized group of parasitic crustaceans. Tantulocarida consists of 33 species and the smallest among them is Stygotantulus stocki which is only 94 micrometer in length.

4. EUKARYOTES (0.8 μm)

Eukaryotes are those organisms that are enclosed within a membrane. Eukaryotes include many types of plants, fungi, animals and unicellular organisms. They have the ability to reproduce either with the help of mitosis or meiosis. They exist in many different sizes and shapes but the smallest among them is Prasinophytes which is a type of green algae with the size of 0.8 micrometer of a single cell. It is a free living organism which is mostly found in marine waters.

3. NANOARCHAEUM (400 nm)

Nanoarchaeum equitans is a microbe which has a diameter of around 400 nm. Specific conditions which are required for the growth of Nanoarchaeum equitans are an environment with a pH of 6 having saline concentration of approximately 2 percent. It requires a high temperature for its growth, which is usually close to the boiling temperature of water. For survival, it has to stay in contact with the host living creature. It has the genes which are required for replication and repair but it lacks the ones which are required for synthesis of cofactors, amino acids, lipids and nucleotides. They possess a circular structure and have an extra layer to provide protection to the cell. Because of their small size of 400 nm they are considered as the third smallest living creatures that are found on earth.

2. MYCOPLASMA GENITALIUM (200 – 300 nm)

Mycoplasma Genitalium is considered as the second smallest organism that have the ability to grow and reproduce. It is basically a parasitic bacterium which is found in respiratory tracts. It may lead to genital diseases and is usually transmitted between partners as a result of unprotected sexual intercourse. It is possible to cure the disease caused by Mycoplasma Genitalium with the help of antibiotics. It have been seen that Mycoplasma Genitalium have 470 coding regions, DNA pairs, energy metabolism, cellular transport, genes and all other things that are necessary to sustain life. Mycoplasma Genitalium may be of different sizes ranging from 200 to 300 nm.

1. NANOBES (20 nm)

Nanobes is one tenth of the size of bacteria and are considered as the smallest of the tiniest form of life that exists on earth. Earlier it was controversial whether nanobes are living or nonliving organisms since scientists earlier have only found mineral-crystalline structures in nanobes rather than any type of life. But due to recent advancements in technology, it has been claimed that nanobes are living organisms as they contains DNA and have the capability to reproduce. They are only 20 nanometre in size which is really small to contain any bio chemicals which helps to sustain life and reproduce, so for nanobes to reproduce and grow, an unconventional way has to be there which nanobes possess. It is still in argument whether nanobes are individual living creatures or parts of larger living organisms.