Ugly Animals of North America

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

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!

The alligator snapping turtle (Photo: Wiki commons).

American toad (Photo: Wiki commons).

American opossum, juvenile (Photo: Wiki commons).

Star nosed mole (Photo: Wiki commons).

Black vulture (Photo: Wiki commons).

Any type of beetle grub (Photo: Wiki commons).

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).

The hagfish, known for its copious slime (Photo: Opencage.com).

Oyster toadfish (Photo: Wiki commons).

Baby bat (Photo: Wiki commons).

Almost any baby bird, this is a barn swallow (Phto: Wiki commons).

Turkey vulture (Photo: Wiki commons).

Wild American turkey, male (Photo: Pixaby)

Hellbender (Photo: Smithsonian)

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."

Infinite Spider

My name is Karen and I am currently the Education Program Coordinator at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, working with students K-gray and doing outdoor science education based on Smithsonian research. I have also been a curriculum developer for the Smithsonian Science Education Center and a contract curriculum writer for the Discovery Channel. In my spare time I love to explore nature topics that I want to know more about, which has lead me to blogging here on "The Infinite Spider" (Infinitespider.com). I've designed it to be a science and nature blog for every-day people, naturalists, and outdoor educators. Currently I live in Annapolis, MD. If you have questions you can reach me at greathornedowl76@gmail.com. Let me know if you enjoy the blog or if you would like to see a particular topic covered. Thanks for reading!