Ready to catch them all, but in the real world? This marine mammal is where the designers of Pokemon got the inspiration for the first-gen creature Dewgong. While the real version doesn’t have a horn (and can’t fire a jet of water hard enough to deal damage), they’re still rare creatures.
Like the rest of the animals in its order (“Sirenia”) it has no dorsal fin or hind limbs. It is easily distinguished by its fluked, dolphin-like tail, as well as its unique skull and teeth. The snout turns down sharply, which helps it feed on its favorite benthic seagrass. Unlike manatees, their molar teeth are simple and peg-like.
Naked Mole-Rat
If you're a fan of the classic Disney cartoon “Kim Possible,” then you're already plenty familiar with this one. For the rest of you: Introducing the naked mole rat, which manages to be both cute and incredibly disturbing.
These burrowing rodents are the only species in the genus “Heterocephalus” in the rodent family. Its unusual physical traits (hairless, pain insensitivity, and strange method of regulating heat) make it singularly suited for the harsh East African environment. They, and the Damaraland mole-rat, are the only eusocial mammals in the world. Bees are also eusocial, so imagine a hive, but with naked mole rats.
The Gerenuk
Hey baby, what's up? This lean beast is called a Gerenuk, and it hails from the Horn of Africa, in the east. It's the sole member of the genus “Litocranius.” Also known as the giraffe gazelle, this mostly-proportional animal got its first description from naturalist Victor Brooke in 1879.
Characterized by its long, slender limbs, and its propensity to stand on its hind legs to reach those tasty, tasty high-up leaves. The species is sexually dimorphic, meaning the males and females look different, like peacocks and peahens. The biggest difference is the horns, which are only present in males. The horns are lyre-shaped and can reach up to eighteen feet in length.
Babirusa
Babirusa, also known as deer pigs, hail from the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi, Togian, Sula, and Buru. This is actually a genus of animals with four different species that have small yet critical differences.
The differences include full-grown sizes, the amount of hair on the body, and the measurements of the skull and teeth. The most noticeable feature of this group of swine is their long, curved tusks. Not only do they develop from the sides of the mouth, like normal teeth, but the tusks from the upper mandible actually pierce the flesh, making them look like horns. Frequently, these tusks will grow so long as to loop back toward the eyes.
Lamprey
Well, it's been fun, everybody. We've seen plenty of cute creatures, and then there's this one. Lampreys are horrible, horrible monsters that aren't straight from your nightmares, but they'll be there soon.
They are an ancient lineage of jawless fish of the order “Petromyzontiformes.” The name lamprey comes from the Latin word lampetra, meaning more-or-less “stone licker.” Lampreys include thirty-eight known living species, as well as five extinct versions. Most of the versions are parasitic carnivores — they feed by boring into the flesh of other fish to suck their blood. Yes, it's pretty distasteful. However, fewer than half of the species take this track.