17h ago · The daily matchup
Goblin Shark vs Pangolin vs Glass Frog: A Slingshot Jaw, a Walking Pinecone, and a Frog You Can See Through
A deep-sea living fossil that fires its own face, an armored ant-vacuum that rolls into a ball, and an amphibian whose internal organs are a spectator sport.
By someone who loves to compare irrelevant things · 5 min read
🦈Goblin Shark
Mitsukurina owstoni
A pink deep-sea living fossil that attacks by throwing its own face.
- CoolJaw: Launches its jaws forward off its skull like a slingshot to grab prey
- WeirdLineage: The only living member of a shark family over 100 million years old
- GrossLook: Flabby pink body with skin so thin its blood vessels show through
🦎Chinese Pangolin
Manis pentadactyla
A walking pinecone that vacuums ants and rolls into an unbreakable ball.
- CoolArmor: The only mammal covered in keratin scales; rolls into a ball a lion cannot open
- WeirdTongue: Its sticky tongue is anchored near the pelvis and is longer than its body
- GrossDiet: Toothless; swallows ants, termites, and a side of grit to grind them up
🐸Glass Frog
Cochranella susatamai
A frog with a window where its stomach should be.
- WeirdTransparency: Translucent belly skin lets you watch its heart beat and guts work
- CoolStealth: Hides red blood cells in its liver while resting to look even more invisible
- GrossVibe: You can see its dinner being digested in real time
Back to the only blog comparing animals that have no business being on the same page. Today: a pink shark from the abyss, a mammal wearing a suit of armor, and a frog you can read a newspaper through. None of them agreed to this.
The contenders
I picked these three for maximum unrelatedness: a fish, a mammal, and an amphibian, sharing nothing but the misfortune of existing on a day I had nothing better to do.
Round 1: Cool
The goblin shark wins the engineering award. Its jaws are not attached the way yours are. When prey drifts near, it launches its entire jaw forward off its face like a slingshot to grab the meal, then reels it back in. It has been doing this, basically unchanged, for over 100 million years.
Round 2: Weird
The pangolin is the only mammal covered in keratin scales, and its tongue is anchored down near its pelvis and is longer than its whole body. It eats ants. It rolls into a ball so tight a lion gives up. And you know what they say: never trust an animal you can see straight through.
Round 3: Gross
The glass frog has translucent skin on its underside, so you can watch its heart beat and its guts work in real time. Some species even park their red blood cells in the liver while sleeping to look more see-through. Nature built a frog with a window.
And the winner is...
🐸 Glass Frog
The goblin shark has the best weapon and the pangolin is the best at being left alone. But cool, weird, and gross is the bracket, and a frog you can literally see the heartbeat through, one that hides its own blood cells to disappear, is the single most unhinged body plan here. Upset of the week: the glass frog wins. You cannot out-weird a live anatomy lesson.
Questions you're too polite to ask
- Can a goblin shark really shoot its jaws out?
- Yes. It has highly protrusible jaws that rapidly extend forward to snatch prey, then retract. It is one of the most extreme examples of jaw protrusion among sharks.
- Why is the glass frog transparent?
- The skin on its underside lacks pigment, so organs are visible. The transparency helps it blend into leaves from below, and some species hide red blood cells in the liver while resting to become even harder to spot.
Taxonomy & tags
Where the facts came from
- Goblin shark - Wikipedia
- Chinese pangolin - Wikipedia
- Glass frog - Wikipedia
The peanut gallery
0 comments