Unusual Animals part fifteen

1. South America has more canid species than any other place on Earth. And that's because until very recently in evolutionary terms, it had no dogs at all. Around 2.5 million years ago, South America finally joined up with North America, and one of the greatest exchanges of wildlife began. One of the most elusive and under-researched is the short-eared dog. This unique canid is also known as small-eared dog, or short-eared zorro, and is native to the Amazonian basin. Are you aware of short-eared dogs?

2. The Sichuan takin is a mammal that is similar to sheep and goats. However, they are a large and muscular animal, with horns and a bear-like tail. They are also known as the Tibetan takin and are a subspecies of the takin a 'goat-antelope', and native to Tibet and some provinces of China. They live in dense bamboo forests alongside Giant Pandas and migrate to the mountains in spring. Would you like to see a Sichuan takin in its native habitat?

3. The smallest anteater in the world hangs out upside down in trees, high up in Central and South American forests. It's the size of a squirrel, and remains more or less motionless all day, only moving at night. The silky anteater is also known as the pygmy anteater, and while previously thought of as a single species, is actually several anteaters. Before today's survey, were you in the know about silky anteaters?

4. Regarded as one of the cutest animals on the planet, the slow loris is also one of the most surprising – they are the only venomous primate in the world. They are small 'lemur-like' primates with large eyes, that live in trees in the rainforests of Southeast Asia. Their name is from their slow, subtle movements in trees to avoid predators. Slow lorises mostly use their venom against one another. They're extremely territorial, and their painful bite helps protect what's theirs. Did you realize that there's only been a single recorded human death from a slow loris bite which is believed to be due to anaphylactic shock (an allergic reaction to the bite)?

5. The shovelnose guitarfish is a type of ray that resembles both rays and sharks. The head and front end of this guitarfish are reminiscent of rays, while the tail and movement are more reminiscent of sharks. The head is shaped like a shovel, hence the name "shovelnose," and the wide head and narrow tail give this species a guitar-like body shape. The shovelnose guitarfish is an ancient species that has changed little in appearance and behavior over millions of years. These fascinating creatures can be found on sandy seafloors from the California coast down to Mexico. Have you ever seen a shovelnose guitarfish?