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The Turtle Frog of western Australia feeds on termites, digging through sand head-first — unusual for a frog but commonplace for a turtle. With a snub nose and stubby physique, this species only bring us to the Creepy Animals mathematical conundrum:

IF [heroes in a half shell = turtle power] THEN [heroes without a shell = frog power] ??

Photos via WAM, Blog on Forest Health,

Defense: the Olm.

-  and  -

Offense: the Texas Blind Salamander.

Rivalries in the animal kingdom are nothing new: Giant Squid vs. Sperm Whale, Baby Elephant vs. Crocodile. Now, a juxtaposition that will creep you out: the Texas Blind Salamander vs. the Olm. Both salamanders are pale, sightless, live in caves underground and remain in the gill-breathing larval stage its entire life. Let’s rack and stack:

The Texas Blind Salamander is found in just one location – the San Marcos Pool of the Edwards Aquifer in Hays, Texas.

Score: +1

The Olm is evolutionarily distinct: it is part of an ancient lineage of amphibians evolving independently for 190 million years! It lives for 50-100 years! It’s able to survive without food for up to 10 years!

Score: +3

Winner: Umm, the Olm.

This is what a winner looks like. Olm my god.

Photos via Discover Magazine and Arkive

"I love to lie! It's the truth."

The Pinocchio Frog was discovered in the remote Foja Mountains when herpetologist Paul Oliver saw an unusual amphibian perched on a bag of rice at the campsite. Oliver was unable to locate another Pinocchio Frog and suspects they dwell amongst the treetops. Let us celebrate this remarkable find with an excerpt from the original story:

Pinocchio: Oh, look! My nose! What’s happened?
The Blue Fairy: Perhaps you haven’t been telling the truth, Pinocchio.
Jiminy Cricket: Perhaps?

Way to lay it down, Jiminy. Turns out the male frog’s long, protruding nose points upward when it ribbits and hangs down low when it’s not. Nobody knows why. Creepy!

Photo via Nat Geo

Hot toady.

Want a flat stomach and amazing skin? Give up on the detox diet and take a hint from the Surinam Toad. It’s super-thin and has an incredible dermis.

The spongy loose skin on its back is a fantastic medium to host embryos. Its eggs are embedded onto the back skin! After implantation, the eggs form pockets in the skin, which ends up looking like a honeycomb. Inside the skin, the eggs turn to tadpoles, and tadpoles into tiny frogs. Eventually, they emerge from their mother’s back as tiny Surinam Toadlets.

We know, it’s a creepy animal – but it’s doing something right.

Baby got back. And back got babies.

Wait! There’s more! Watch the toadlets ‘hatch’ from their mother’s skin below. Guaranteed to creep you out!

Photo above via Aqua Pets Plus

They finally caught the purp.

The Purple Frog was officially ‘discovered’ by scientists in 2003 in the Western Ghats region in India. This species is rare mainly because it is rarely seen – it devotes much of the year living 13 feet underground burrowing for termites.  The Purple Frog only comes to the surface two weeks a year during monsoon season to mate and scare the hell out of the non-locals.

Characteristics: purple skin, squat bloated corpus, beady eyes, snubbed nose, and generally creepy:

Top view.

Ridiculosity.

Slimy things aren’t supposed to be this big. And yet here is the Chinese Giant Salamander, which can reach almost 6 feet in length. If Creepy Animals had a rating system, this would probably hover at 90%.

There is also a Japanese Giant Salamander. Though it is smaller than the Chinese version, it is still an absurdly large amphibian. Watch this snippet:

PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH. Thank you.

Just in time for Halloween, we give you a truly creepy animal: the Horror Hairy Frog from Cameroon. Not only are the bristly skin appendages truly unsightly, this amphibian also has a nasty little trick up its hands. Through a bizarre twist of evolution, the Hairy Frog literally breaks its own bones as a defense mechanism.

How it works:

1. Hairy Frog is threatened.

2. Hairy Frog breaks its tiny finger bones, puncturing the toe pad skin: Exhibit A.

3. Hairy Frog effectively creates claws, made of bone: Exhibit B.

4. Hairy Frog can now defend itself, or at least clamor away from a potentially deadly situation. Everyone is creeped out.

(Ex. A) Just got them claws did.

(Ex. B) Tiny frog hand. Bones piercing through it. WTF?