More weird animal names

Of all the posts I’ve written here at Mama Joules, Weird animal names has been the most popular. So, I thought maybe you’d enjoy some more! Read about these animals and thank your parents that you weren’t saddled with these monikers:

“Fat” is the last name of Psammomys obesus, also known as the Fat sand rat, a rodent living in the sandy, salty deserts of northern Africa and the Middle East. Fat sand rats are sought as research animals for the study of diabetes.

Psammomys obesus by Tino StraussThis photo was published under the CC-BY-SA-2.5
Doesn’t Nine-banded armadillo sound better than this mammal’s other informal name, the Common long-nosed armadillo? It's even been referred to as the poor man’s pig! Fun fact: When pregnant, Nine-banded armadillos always carry four identical babies. Another fun fact: A South American relative (Dasypus pilosus) is stuck with an even worse name: the Hairy long-nosed armadillo.

Some species of horned frogs, including the South American ornate horned frog, are commonly known as “Pac-Man frogs” because they resemble the round video game character that gobbles everything in its path.

Ceratophrys ornata by avmaierThis photo was published under the CC-BY-2.0
Australia’s Bridled nail-tail wallaby (so named for its pointy tail) was thought to be extinct from 1937 to 1973, when a small population was discovered in central Queensland. There are about 450 Bridled nail-tailed wallabies alive today, according to The State of Queensland Environmental Protection Agency (reference: Recovery Plan for the bridled nailtail wallaby (Onychogalea fraentata) 2005-2009 [Note: this is a .pdf file]). What a wonderful species recovery story – and a nice reminder that it’s never too late to start protecting wildlife.