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.
featured comment
Reply | Share
Roses said on 23 Saturday 2010 pm31 6:03 pm:
Centipedes are the one insect that gives me shivers. They grow them big in Hawaii (about 7-10 inches, but they seem larger). Flying cockroaches and cane spiders are weird too.
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
loading...
Users who voted on this slide
← Prev|Next →
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...
Related News On Huffington Post:
 

Cricket Has Biggest Testicles Of Any Animal, Used For Promiscuity: Study Lizard Shoots Blood Out Of Eye As Defense Mechanism (VIDEO) Animal Photos Of The Week Baby Lions At National Zoo Learn To Swim (PHOTOS) China Zoo Cruelty, Abuse Crackdown: Facilities Face Closure For Animal Performances, Wildlife Product Sales And Inadequate Food & Shelter GPS Installed In African Rhinos' Horns To Deter And Track Illegal Poaching Flamingos Apply Natural Make-Up To Their Feathers To Attract Mates: Study Russian Bears Eat Corpses Dug Up From Graveyards Due To Lack Of Food Panda Baby Boom In China Fights Extinction Thanks To Better Nutrition, More Natural Habitats And 'Panda Porn' (PHOTOS) '100 Heartbeats': Jeff Corwin's New Book Highlights The Race To Save Species Endangered By Mankind (PHOTOS) Fighting, Racing And Hunting: Cruel Animal Sports (PHOTOS) Animal Photos Of The Week Penguins Are Not Gay, They Are Just Lonely: Study Animal Play Present In Fish, Reptiles And Invertebrates, New Research Suggests Jaguar vs. Crocodile, Cougar vs. Bear, Shark vs. Octopus And 9 Other Epic Animal Showdowns (VIDEOS)
Read more from Huffington Post bloggers:
Peter Seligmann
Harrison Ford

Peter Seligmann and Harrison Ford: America's Commitment to Nature: Another Endangered Species?

The United States contributes huge sums of both private and public money to international conservation projects, but we don't have an official voice in the planning processes that prioritize how large portions of that money are spent.

What's Your Reaction?
Inspiring
 Enlightening
 Infuriating
 Scary
 Helpful
 Amazing
 Innovative
 Adorable

More in Green...


 
 
  • 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)
photo
Kari Post
17 Fans
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!
Permalink  |
photo
sigh-ence
87 Fans
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
Permalink  |
mszero
0 Fans
05:28 PM on 10/25/2010
100# rat? Ain't got nothin' on any Republican.
Permalink  |
photo
gallon
Those who fail to remember history are, um
265 Fans
06:25 PM on 11/08/2010
Faved, but aren't the goopers more closely related to weazels?
Permalink  |
RRocket
0 Fans
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.
Permalink  |
photo
Highlander0666
27 Fans
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.
Permalink  |
photo
czs5056
148 Fans
11:19 PM on 10/24/2010
I think the 1st one is the Kraken
Permalink  |
photo
snowballinhell
Humans have a 100% chance of extinction
417 Fans
11:27 PM on 10/24/2010
You're right! Good work.
Permalink  |
photo
czs5056
148 Fans
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
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mudshark12
Now who are you jiving with that cosmik debris?
581 Fans
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!
Permalink  |
photo
hanerau
16 Fans
02:07 AM on 10/25/2010
Good call. That really annoyed me when I discovered they were talking about the capybara.
Permalink  |
photo
RedRat
Ignorance is fixable, stupidty is forever
403 Fans
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.
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mudshark12
Now who are you jiving with that cosmik debris?
581 Fans
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".
Permalink  |
Alchzndr
0 Fans
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
Permalink  |
photo
RatgurlSD
34 Fans
09:40 PM on 10/24/2010
I wonder if the capybara was the inspiration for ROUS's....
Permalink  |
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
gal416
is a Bible verse † † †
194 Fans
09:47 PM on 10/24/2010
Definitely the capybara is a Rodent Of Unusual Size.
Permalink  |
photo
sigh-ence
87 Fans
12:38 PM on 10/26/2010
HAHA WIN!
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
Woods Shade
330 Fans
06:54 PM on 10/24/2010
The Galapagos Tottoise... just amazing. Somehow humbling.
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
Woods Shade
330 Fans
06:55 PM on 10/24/2010
Tortoise. See how amazed I was...
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
AtheistUS
345 Fans
05:52 PM on 10/24/2010
That's nothing compared to some human species that roam our supermarkets and fast food restaurants.
Permalink  |
photo
Billy Jack
1168 Fans
05:37 PM on 10/24/2010
You can add NJ Governor Chris Christi to this list
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
wilray
50,000 Screaming Fans (Ignore that other number)
779 Fans
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
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
p456
Walking Tall.
1890 Fans
05:00 PM on 10/24/2010
Alaskan King crabs are larger.
Permalink  |
photo
icarus85
30 Fans
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.
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Tyrione
283 Fans
04:56 PM on 10/24/2010
Sturgeon out of The Snake River in Washington grow longer than 9 feet.
Permalink  |
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
blytzd
104 Fans
06:44 PM on 10/24/2010
Its likely based on the average adult of the species.
Permalink  |
Willow712
nurse
445 Fans
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!
Permalink  |
Page: 1 2 3 4 5  Next ›  Last »  (9 total)