Imagine being one of these disguised creatures that could blend with the background or avoid confronting your enemies. You could change the color of your skin easily to match the background or to the soil underneath your feet.
Some of these disguised creatures can do exactly what you imagined in your head right now. That is a wildcard they possess to enhance their survivability. Here are 8 disguised creatures that will make you question reality and make you ask yourself if you have ever confronted these animals in the wild.1: The giant leaf-tailed gecko
These giant geckos are masters of disguise and it is a matter of survival for these disguised creatures to hide from their predators. They can also mimic the screams of a human. The giant leaf-tailed gecko is found in abundance in Madagascar.
Their lower jaw flaps, grey-green in color, rest on the surface of the tree trunks and litters of the leaf. This little maneuver helps to hide their outlines, refracts light and further increases their area. They become completely unnoticeable to the predators.
They vary in their appearances as some are tanned, greyish, brownish, and even greenish in color. These geckos rest their heads down to amplify their disguise. If you ever cross paths against one be prepared to hear a child’s scream from these disguised creatures.
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2: Leaf- litter toad
This species of toad has been majorly observed in South America and its scientific name is Rhaebo haematiticus. Spotting a leaf litter toad is quite tough as it is camouflaged amidst the dead leaves.
The toads prefer rivers and streams in their habitat. The skin of the toad makes it possible to blend in the dead leaves. The Amazon is rich in its predators but the camouflage helps these disguised creatures survive while looking for small insects on the floor of the mighty forest.
These toads are only found in dense forests and their natural habitat is under intense pressure from industrial agricultural developments.
3: Wrap-around spider
This wrap-around spider is exclusive to Oceania and parts of Australia. The spider has a belly that is concave which lets it rest around the circumference of a tree trunk while being undetectable by its predators. The predators are usually hungry birds.
These disguised creatures have oval discs around their abdomen, which adds to the camouflage. These discs provide the spider with a leopard skin look. People have nicknamed the spider, “Leopard spider”.
The spider wraps around its tree during the morning hours. When the sun goes down, the spider leaves its tree and designs a web that looks like an orb to catch its prey. The spider returns to the tree once the night ends and it demolishes its web.
4: Pygmy seahorse
Hailed as the world’s tiniest sea horses, the Pygmy seahorses live near Southeast Asia, especially near the Coral Triangle. The sea horses are a couple of centimeters tall from top to bottom.
In order to match with the corals around, the pygmy seahorses grow tubercles on their bodies. These calcified tubercles look like bumps on its body. These sea horses are very difficult to be predated as their sizes are extremely minute and they are unbelievably camouflaged into their coral backgrounds.
If the pygmy seahorse drifts into a different colored coral, its body will change its color to match, once again.
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5: Decorator crab
The decorator crab looks fabulous while protecting itself from threats. The crabs load their bodies with coral, sponges, and seaweed to blend in with similar surroundings. It is quite difficult to spot these fashionable creatures.
Their shells have tiny hairs that work like velcro to stick a particular element on its shell. Some crabs even go to the extent of sticking toxic weed and anemones that sting. It does not harm the crab but is quite unpleasant when a predator tries to eat this crab.
When the decorator crab grows too big for its shell, it removes all the decorations and re-attaches it to its new shell.
6: Arctic hare
These disguised creatures are very difficult to catch. You can spot them out during the summers but it is impossible to look for them during the winters. The Arctic hare’s coat changes into a whiter coat.
The hare has its eyes on the opposite sides of its head, which allows it to look everywhere without straining its neck. These disguised creatures can run at 40 mph when chased by predators, which makes it even more difficult to catch one.
Along with all these features they also have thicker and darker eyelashes that can act like sunglasses. They can easily see their predators before they can spot these hares.
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7: Owl
Evolution is due to survival, as stated by Charles Darwin. Owls are an example of such. Owls have feathers that look like trees. These disguised creatures wait in these trees to look for prey.
We often mistake the ear-like projections on owls for actual ears, which is entirely wrong. Owls have ears that look like holes on either side of their heads. The projections are just aggregates of feathers that look like twigs when raised. These are just to help the owl blend in with its background.
Owls can easily change their body contour, known as ‘concealment posture’. The owls can choose to squat or lift their body up to copy the branches of a tree by looking thinner and taller. They are hiding from predators as well as from their prey to catch them without raising any suspicion.
8: Sidewinder rattlesnake
This rattlesnake is found in the desert regions of Mexico and the US. The desert soil provides the perfect camouflage for these disguised creatures. The main purpose of this disguise is to catch its prey.
The sidewinder rattlesnake has a brown body with a sandy texture which makes it impossible to perceive. It can also shake itself into the sandy ground to cover itself. The eyelids bear raised scales to act like shades against the sunlight and the sand. The snake chooses to stay in one place till its victim arrives.
When a rat or mouse gets close to one of them, the snake strikes and injects venom into the rodent’s body. The snake keeps following its victim till its death and then gobbles them up.
