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Surely you’re more likely to find a flesh-eating slug in a sci-fi film than your own back garden?

Don’t be so sure - biologists recently discovered this carnivorous creature in Cardiff (UK) and Caerphilly (Wales)of all places.

The Ghost Slug



The blind, colourless slug is a completely new species and has been aptly christened the “ghost slug”. Feasting on worms as its snack of choice, the ghost slug kills them with the blade-like teeth on its belly and then sucks them up like spaghetti.

Mother Nature has a strange sense of humour, that’s for sure. Take a look at some of her more bizarre creations, and see how you can try to witness them for yourself.



The tree that commits suicide

Recently discovered by a family picnicking in the Madagascan jungle, Tahina spectabilisa is a strange new species of palm tree that apparently kills itself after flowering. Reaching a height of 60ft and growing for more than a century, it blooms only once, with hundreds of beautiful white flowers that drip with nectar. And that’s that for Tahina spectabilisa: after pollination, it withers and dies.



Why’s it so weird? To attract the insects and birds needed for pollination, the tree must produce huge amounts of energy-rich nectar. When the bloom is over and the tree has pollinated successfully, it has literally no energy left in reserve, and thus it dies. No wonder there are only around 100 of these peculiar trees left in the wild.

Where to find it: The new palm can be found on the secluded western side of the island of Madagascar.


The see-through amphibian

The Olm is a bizarre-looking amphibian that spends its whole life in the watery caves of southern Europe. It’s almost completely blind, and its internal organs are visible through its translucent skin.



Why’s it so weird? The Olm (Proteus anguinus) is beautifully adapted to a life spent in total darkness. Although it’s lost the use of its eyes, it has an extremely good sense of smell, and can also hunt using electric pulses to detect prey in hiding in the bottom of the cave streams. And if food is scarce, the Olm doesn’t worry: it can survive 10 years without a meal. As for its translucent skin, the Olm lacks any pigmentation, making it almost see-through. But expose it to light and its skin will gradually go dark.

Where to find it: Southern Italy, Slovenia and Croatia.


The Octopus that loves its toy

Louis, the Giant Octopus which lives in a Cornish aquarium, has made a new best friend: a Mr Potato Head toy given to it by the aquarium staff. The eight-legged sea creature is fascinated by its new two-legged plastic companion, and strenuously resists any attempt to remove it.



Why’s it so weird? Octopuses are highly intelligent and curious creatures that need to be kept stimulated in captivity. Louis’s keepers sometimes put food inside the toy's cavities; but even without hidden treats, the octopus has made a firm friend.

Where to find it: Louis can be visited at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay, Cornwall.


The Chinese Giant Salamander

The truly colossal Chinese Giant Salamander is not only the world’s largest salamander, it also holds the record as the world’s largest amphibian, growing to a length of almost 6ft. Unfortunately it’s also one of the world’s most critically endangered species. The Giant Salamander is considered a delicacy in Asia, and its large size and docile behaviour makes it extremely easy to catch.



Why’s it so weird? This huge amphibian lives among the cold water streams in the mountains and feeds on insects, frogs and fish. It has very poor eyesight, depending instead on sensory nodes on its forehead that can detect the slightest movements in the water.

Where to find it: You could visit the remote caves of China, but there’s also a specimen in the Steinhardt Aquarium in San Francisco, California.


The squid the size of a bus

In February 2007, fishermen off the coast of Antarctica landed the first intact specimen of the Colossal Squid. The titanic invertebrate took almost two hours to land, weighed an estimated 450kg and was around 33ft long.



Why’s it so weird: The Colossal Squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) is bigger and even more elusive than the legendary Giant Squid. And instead of suckers on its huge tentacles, it has reversible hooks, which enable it to capture its preferred prey, the Patagonian toothfish. One expert pointed out that calamari made from the Colossal Squid would be as large as tractor tyres!

Where to find it: Tasmania is your best bet, with at least two specimens of Colossal Squid washing up here in the last 10 years.


The world’s largest – and smelliest – flower

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, said Shakespeare. He obviously hadn’t smelt the giant Rafflesia, a rare plant that can be found on dead or decaying trees deep in the forests of Sumatra. The flower is the biggest and heaviest in the plant kingdom and smells delightfully of rotting flesh.



Why’s it so weird: Like many other plants, Rafflesia (Rafflesia arnoldii) needs insects to pollinate itself. But unlike roses and tulips that rely on nectar-loving bees and butterflies to spread their pollen, the Rafflesia has evolved to attract flies, which love nothing more than laying their eggs on rotting flesh. Fortunately for delicate human nostrils, the Rafflesia blooms only rarely.

Where to find it: Rafflesia can be found in the jungles of Sumatra and Borneo.


The ugliest mammal in the world

With its distinctive elongated snout and tiny body covered in long wiry fur, the Almiqui of Central America must qualify as one of the ugliest animals on the face of the earth. It’s actually an incredibly rare insectivore which spends its time underground munching worms and is consequently only very rarely glimpsed.



Why’s it so weird? Apart from being almost comically ugly, poor Solenodon cubanus, aka the Almiqui, was actually thought to be extinct. So there was a great deal of excitement when a farmer in Eastern Cuba recently found the first specimen seen in four years and called it Alejandrito. Scientists hope more of these bizarre creatures can be found in the deep forest.

Where to find it: You can try to track down another Almiqui in the dense forests in the east of Cuba.


The mole with the peculiar nose

The designer must have been taking a day off when he created the Star-Nosed Mole of North America. Related to the common moles of Europe, this mole is famous for the peculiar facial appendages from which it takes its name: 22 pink and fleshy tentacles at the end of its snout.



Why’s it so weird? The Star-Nosed Mole is as blind as, uh, a mole, but uses its incredibly sensitive nasal appendages to look for food as it moves through its network of underground tunnels. Each tentacle is covered in thousands of tiny receptors called Eimer’s Organs which help it sift through the soil at high speed, looking for tiny insects and worms

Where to find it: The Star-Nosed Mole lives in eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States.


The crabs of Christmas Island

Christmas Island is a tiny speck of land in the middle of the Indian Ocean that 120 million Red Crabs call home. Once a year, one of the most spectacular migrations in the world takes place, as the entire adult Red Crab population makes its way out of the forest, climbing over, under or around every obstacle on its way to the coast.



Why are they so weird? The massive migration happens as the crabs head for the sea to spawn. The males dig burrows at the coast, and fight for the attentions of the females. After mating occurs, the egg-laden females descend to the sea to deposit millions of eggs at high tide, before staggering back into the island’s interior. In a few short weeks, the baby crabs arrive on the shore and make the hazardous return journey into the dark forests.

Where to find them: Christmas Island is an Australian territory 500 km south of Indonesia.


The villainous wasp

The inspiration for the Alien movies, the female Ichneumon Wasp has found a novel – and horrifying - solution to the problem of child-rearing. She finds a host, usually a caterpillar or larva, and deposits her eggs in or on the unsuspecting victim. Her larvae hatch and eat the victim from the inside out.



Why’s it so weird? The female Ichneumon Wasp finds her victims hidden in logs and trees using her highly sensitive antennae. She drills through the wood with her extremely long ovipositor (egg depositor) and, when she senses its tip in contact with the host larva, injects her egg. After the egg hatches, the young Ichneumon Wasp larva feeds on the host. When it matures, it chews its way out and begins life as an adult. Fortunately for us, the habit is confined to insects only a couple of inches long.

Where to find it: The Ichneumon Wasp can be found all over the world, but the species that drill through wood are especially abundant in Florida, USA, and North Africa.