What is your favorite unusual species?

Written By Gael Sanchez

Ask A Biologist Monday 8/30/21

My favorite unusual species is the Quoll. I even named my brand after them! Quolls are a carnivorous marsupial native to Australia and New Guinea. There are six species in total. They are primarily nocturnal and spend most of the day in a den. Quolls eat smaller mammals, small birds, lizards, and insects. Their natural lifespan is between two and five years. All species have drastically declined in numbers since Australasia was colonized by Europeans, with one species, the eastern quoll, becoming extinct on the Australian mainland, now found only in Tasmania. Major threats to their survival include the toxic cane toad, predators such as feral cats and foxes, urban development, and poison baiting. Conservation efforts include breeding programs in captivity, one of which is taking place in Tasmania.

My favorite unusual species is the Quoll. I even named my brand after them! Quolls are a carnivorous marsupial native to Australia and New Guinea. There are six species in total. They are primarily nocturnal and spend most of the day in a den.

Quolls eat smaller mammals, small birds, lizards, and insects. Their natural lifespan is between two and five years. All species have drastically declined in numbers since Australasia was colonized by Europeans, with one species, the eastern quoll, becoming extinct on the Australian mainland, now found only in Tasmania. Major threats to their survival include the toxic cane toad, predators such as feral cats and foxes, urban development, and poison baiting. Conservation efforts include breeding programs in captivity, one of which is taking place in Tasmania.

Answers from the Biologists:

  • Prehensile tailed porcupine

  • Fly river turtles

  • Pirate perch

  • Grasshopper mouse

  • Bigfin squid

  • Horseshoe crab

  • Tuatara

  • Giraffe weevil

  • Aye-aye

  • Kakpo

  • Silver-baked chevrotain

  • Pacific lamprey-contrary to popular belief, this is a fish and not an eel

  • Spotted skunk

  • Cagou

  • Woodrats

  • Roseate spoonbills

  • Bowfin-unchanged in 100 million years and only extant species in its order.

  • Fossa

  • Potoo

  • Tawny frogmouth

  • Tie between Pacific lamprey and White sturgeon

  • Echidna

  • Lowland streaked tenrec

  • Ferruginous hawk

  • Mantis flies

  • Solifugids

  • Secretary bird

  • Minnesota endemic Dwarf trout lily

  • Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine

  • Greater glider

  • Shoebill

  • Oregon forestsnail

  • Mud turtles-they have a double hinged shell for complete retraction

  • American kestrel

  • Southern cassowary

  • Red flanked duiker

  • Hoatzin

  • Pygmy marmoset

  • Dhole-they have fused paw pads, adorable family units, and whistle!

  • Okapi

  • Eastern whip-poor-will

  • Ozark hellbender

  • Saiga antelope-funny looking in a cute way and have a cool ecology

  • Bolitoglossa salamanders-their little feet!

  • American paddlefish

  • Saiga antelope

  • White-faced ibis

  • Pronghorn

  • Kakapo

  • Caracal

  • Armadillos (especially the nine-banded)

  • Deep pitted poacher

  • Hellbenders

  • Aye-ayes: cool and creepy

  • Ringtailed cat

  • Pine marten

  • Chuck-will’s-widow

  • Black-footed ferret

  • Burton’s legless lizard

  • Aolotl

  • Shoebill stork

  • Satanic nightjars

  • Great basin toad

  • Fossa

  • Cuttlefish

  • Japanese serow

  • Wolf eels

  • Orchid mantis

  • Razorback sucker

  • Northern shrike

Gael Sanchez http://www.cactusquollcreations.com
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