Weird animal names

Did you ever wish you could change your name? Well, just imagine if you were one of these animals:

The Stinkpot turtle lives up to its name by giving off an unpleasant smell when threatened or scared.

The Southern hairy-nosed wombat is native to Australia.

Townsend's big-eared bat also goes by the name "lump-nosed bat." You can check out some video of Townsend's big-eared bat in action at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's BatCam.

Dung beetles actually eat the poop of other animals!

The scientific name of the Eastern spotted skunk is Spilogale putorius. The word “putorius” comes from the same Latin root as the word “putrid.” In other words, this skunk’s last name is stinky.

The Least weasel is the smallest meat-eating mammal in the world.

Least WeaselPhoto credit: Chris Russoniello, National Park Service

Check out a guide to mammals at your local library and see if you can find some even stranger names. I’d love to hear them!

[If you like this post, check out More weird animal names!]