The Screaming Hairy Armadillo and 76 Other Animals with Weird, Wild Names by Matthew Murrie and Steve Murrie is a funny and gross and wonderful facts about some funny named, deliciously named and weirdly named animals. You learn the naked mole rat is not a rat or a mole. But is naked and eats its own poop. You learn that when it “snows” in the deepest part of the ocean, you REALLY don’t want to build a snowman. You find out what a Yeti Crab is and a Vampire Squid. Not to mention what the differences between “arms” and “tentacles” in the animals that don them.
Some of the animals will make you laugh, and you might be amazed at some of the creatures out there. There is such a thing as a sparkle-muffin peacock spider (along with other peacock spiders with equally odd names). And you learn that sometimes scientists have a love of Harry Potter, their nieces and might have been hungry when they named a few critters. Not to mention so much more about creatures around the world (and maybe in your backyard). Each animal can have several pages dedicated to it, but none are “jammed with facts” as every page is filled with the right amount. There are illustrations (by Julie Benbassat) and a few photographs.
You will laugh, get icked out and hopefully learn about animals on land, sea and air that you did not know about.
And just for the record, I don’t care what people say, the smooth-headed blob fish is NOT the ugliest creature regardless if it has been voted that.