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.
Dugong
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.
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.
Zebra Duiker
This little guy, found primarily in Liberia (along with the Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, and occasionally Guinea), is a small antelope. Commonly referred to as a banded duiker or stripped-back duiker, it's thought to be one of the earliest members of the duiker family.
The big physical element of this creature is the black stripes that wrap around the top of its body, which is where the obvious name came from. These duikers are quite small compared to other members of the antelope family, usually only growing to about three feet in length, and weighing less than fifty pounds. Females are typically larger, and most likely to support longer gestation times.
Yeti Crab
These undersea creatures are prepared for the cold. Also known as yeti lobsters, yeti crabs are named after the legendary Yeti, a mythical creature thought to exist in the Himalayas. They exist in their own family, Kiwaidae, in the superfamily Chirostyloidea.
While it looks like they exist in cold climates, they're normally found around deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seeps — ocean floor areas where hydrogen sulfide, methane, and other fluids collect into pools. They are often warmer than normal water temps. The hairy, bristly appearance of their big forearms is actually for protection and to find food.