More

Oversized Animals (PHOTOS)

Huffington Post     First Posted: 10/23/10 12:28 PM ET   Updated: 05/25/11 07:05 PM ET

Just as there are animals out there with adorable mini versions of themselves, there are also gigantic species that boggle the mind.

Some are innocuous, some are dangerous. All of them represent the upper limits of animal size.

Colossal Squid
1 of 12
In 2007 a fishing boat off of Antarctica was fishing for Patagonian toothfish and came up with the colossal squid instead. It has eyes the size of dinner plates, sharp hooks on some of its suckers, and weighs almost a half ton.

No worries; it lives too deep undersea to bother us up here on the surface.
Total comments: 257 | Post a Comment
1 of 12
Animal
Pretty Normal
Way Too Big

  • 1

  • 2

  • 3

  • 4

  • 5

  • 6

  • 7

  • 8

  • 9

  • 10
Top Oversized Animals
Users who voted on this slide
loading...

FOLLOW HUFFPOST GREEN

Just as there are animals out there with adorable mini versions of themselves, there are also gigantic species that boggle the mind. Some are innocuous, some are dangerous. All of them represent t...
Just as there are animals out there with adorable mini versions of themselves, there are also gigantic species that boggle the mind. Some are innocuous, some are dangerous. All of them represent t...
 
 
  • Comments
  • 257
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Comments are closed for this entry
View All
Favorites
Recency  | 
Popularity
Page: 1 2 3 4 5  Next ›  Last »  (9 total)
12:05 PM on 11/08/2010
The fish pictured isn't an arapaima but if you click the link in the caption the correct photo shows up. They have them at the National Zoo in Washington DC and they are HUGE!
12:39 PM on 10/26/2010
Whoa...that tarantula and that centipede...*shudders*. I nearly v0mmed. So scary!

That crab was pretty creepy, too. lol
05:28 PM on 10/25/2010
100# rat? Ain't got nothin' on any Republican.
photo
gallon
Those who fail to remember history are, um
06:25 PM on 11/08/2010
Faved, but aren't the goopers more closely related to weazels?
05:07 AM on 10/25/2010
The largest fish pictured isn't even an Arapaima. That appears to be a catfish species knows as a Piraiba.
02:13 AM on 10/25/2010
The largest freshwater fish is the Mekong Catfish, not the Arapaima. But some are now claiming that the fresh water stingray is bigger. Either way, you are wrong HP. The Arapaima is the around the 5th largest.
11:19 PM on 10/24/2010
I think the 1st one is the Kraken
photo
snowballinhell
Humans have a 100% chance of extinction
11:27 PM on 10/24/2010
You're right! Good work.
05:52 PM on 10/25/2010
I know the sea tales of old where the Kraken would pull ships under the waves never to be seen again with 8-10 tentacles (varies from story to story) with eyes as large as dinner platters
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mudshark12
Now who are you jiving with that cosmik debris?
11:17 PM on 10/24/2010
Oh stop it HP, while the Capybara is the largest rodent on Earth but it's NOT a rat!
02:07 AM on 10/25/2010
Good call. That really annoyed me when I discovered they were talking about the capybara.
photo
RedRat
Ignorance is fixable, stupidty is forever
02:14 PM on 10/25/2010
I am annoyer too! The Capybara is not a rat! Rodent yes, rat no! Very disappointed I got suckered in by the headline too.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mudshark12
Now who are you jiving with that cosmik debris?
09:22 PM on 10/25/2010
With you being a RedRat I can totally sympathize with you. HP should realize that we are going to read the posts anyway so there is no need for them to "spice things up".
10:12 PM on 10/24/2010
To add insult to injury: That isn't an Arapaima in the picture. It's a Red-Tailed Catfish (which also lives in the Amazon). This is an Arapaima http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arapaima
09:40 PM on 10/24/2010
I wonder if the capybara was the inspiration for ROUS's....
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
gal416
is a Bible verse † † †
09:47 PM on 10/24/2010
Definitely the capybara is a Rodent Of Unusual Size.
12:38 PM on 10/26/2010
HAHA WIN!
photo
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
Woods Shade
06:54 PM on 10/24/2010
The Galapagos Tottoise... just amazing. Somehow humbling.
photo
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
Woods Shade
06:55 PM on 10/24/2010
Tortoise. See how amazed I was...
photo
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
AtheistUS
05:52 PM on 10/24/2010
That's nothing compared to some human species that roam our supermarkets and fast food restaurants.
05:37 PM on 10/24/2010
You can add NJ Governor Chris Christi to this list
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
wilray
50,000 Screaming Fans (Ignore that other number)
04:52 PM on 10/24/2010
This is the largest crab I've seen. It should taste good with some drawn butter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br6a_Ilhngk
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
p456
Walking Tall.
05:00 PM on 10/24/2010
Alaskan King crabs are larger.
04:28 PM on 10/24/2010
I've seen pictures of sturgeon claiming to be up to 15 feet long and they looked it. In Minnesota, they have to be at least 6 feet before you can even keep them. Makes me wonder as to the accuracy of the other info, because I'm positive as to sturgeon being larger than what they claim is the largest freshwater fish.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Tyrione
04:56 PM on 10/24/2010
Sturgeon out of The Snake River in Washington grow longer than 9 feet.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
blytzd
06:44 PM on 10/24/2010
Its likely based on the average adult of the species.
04:17 PM on 10/24/2010
I used to live near Pueblo, Colorado. And every year, the tarantula males would begin a trek across the country, looking for a female. They were as big as the bottom of a quart canning jar. But they didn't hurt anybody, we just left them alone.

they also had foot long centipedes. Horrible things! I cornered one in a corner of my bedroom once, and tried to kill it with the heel of a shoe. And the thing was faster than I was! I finally got him. But if you turned over some wood, or a tire outside, etc. you would find a whole bunch of them. Yuck!