Ugly Animals of North America

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Ugly Animals of North America: It's Time to Celebrate Ugly

California_Condor
California condor (Photo: Wiki commons).

 

Ugly Animal Gallery

Sometimes it's fun to just go off the rails and post something completely different. Today, I bring you a gallery of under appreciated animals of North America. Some may call them ugly, but they are all an important part of their relative ecosystems.

However, there's no getting around the fact that these critters won't win a beauty contest. I did have to make some tough choices here, but I went mostly with animals that I would think of as "ugly" and not scary or frightening. If I missed any, feel free to e-mail me!

Alligator_snapping_turtle
The alligator snapping turtle (Photo: Wiki commons).
American_Toad_Image_006
American toad (Photo: Wiki commons).
Hissing Baby Opossum
American opossum, juvenile (Photo: Wiki commons).
Condylura
Star nosed mole (Photo: Wiki commons).
Coragyps-atratus-002
Black vulture (Photo: Wiki commons).
Curl_grub
Any type of beetle grub (Photo: Wiki commons).
Flicke Elizabeth Sellers dvsm
I know, it's not an animal, but the name alone got this one in. This is dog vomit slime mold, in it's later phase of looking disgusting (Photo: Elizabeth Sellers, Flicker).
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
The hagfish, known for its copious slime (Photo: Opencage.com).
oyster toad wiki
Oyster toadfish (Photo: Wiki commons).
Pipistrellus_pipistrellus_baby
Baby bat (Photo: Wiki commons).
Newly_hatched_Barn_Swallow,_(Hirundo_rustica),_littlest_nestling_begging;_baby_birds,_nests,_gaping
Almost any baby bird, this is a barn swallow (Phto: Wiki commons).
Turkey_Vulture_Scavenging
Turkey vulture (Photo: Wiki commons).
turkey-49677_640 Pixaby
Wild American turkey, male (Photo: Pixaby)
hellbender si
Hellbender (Photo: Smithsonian)
Jennifer Krauel flicker giant swallowtail cat
Giant swallowtail caterpillar, that mimics bird poop (Photo: Jennifer Krauel, Flicker).

What do you think? Which is your favorite? If you'd like to know more about the science of "ugly" check out this great video, all about why we might find animals "ugly" or "gross."