20 More Weird Animals You Probably Didn't Know Exist

If You think that you’ve seen the world over, under, around and through, but there will still be wonders that will make your eyes pop. Approximately 1.5 million species have been formally described in the scientific literature, most of the insects. Currently, scientists have recently estimated that there are approximately 8.7 million species on Earth. We’ve rounded up some strange animals you probably didn’t know existed.



The Mata Mata Turtle (Chelus fimbriata) is a freshwater turtle species found in South America, primarily in the Amazon and Orinoco basins. It is one of two extant species in the genus Chelus, the other being Chelus orinocensis. It is described for the first time by French naturalist Pierre Barrère in 1741 as a "large land turtle with spiky and ridged scales" (translation). Mata mata found distinctive differences in the populations of the Amazon and Orinoco basins.