While working on this giant list of animals, I also began to compile a list of bizarre animal adaptations for use as a mutation table or as a way of generating bizarre new creatures.
Unfortunately, I couldn't get it up to 100 entries. But this list can be combined with the 50 animal adaptations listed here to form a d120 random mutation table.
Each of this mutations is a trait present in an actual animal (except for one which is from a plant).
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- The bulk of its body is composed of electricity generators. (Electric eel)
- Shrinks when hungry (Marine iguana, krill)
- Skin pops off when startled (krill again)
- Giant terrifying fangs that protrude from mouth. (Tufted Deer)
- Instinctive compulsion to perform lobotomies. (Emerald cockroach wasp)
- Bodily fluids become potent hallucinogens. (Sarpa salpa)
- Loses nearly all hair and starts sweating. (Homo Sapiens)
- Appendages on either side of the mouth which shoot out glue. (Velvet Worm)
- Vocalizations change to resemble industrial noises. (Lyrebird)
- Giant eyes that burn away each day and regrow each night. (Net-casting spider)
- Bioluminescent. (Glowworm)
- Spring-loaded spine for turbo charged backflips. (Click Beetle)
- Long thin legs and neck. (Gerenuk)
- Has a growth on its back that resembles the entirety of another animal. (Cyphonia clavata)
- Sweats bright red sunscreen. (Hippo)
- Tongue becomes extremely long, winds around through holes in the skull to act as a built-in helmet. (Woodpecker)
- Fingers on a limb that typically does not have fingers. (Hoatzin)
- Photosynthetic. (Eastern emerald elysia)
- Barbed hooks on skin (Polyrhachis bihamata)
- Sprays acid from butt (Yellow crazy ant)
- Teeth never stop growing. Can pierce own skull. (Babirusa)
- Dangly lure hanging from its face. ( Frogfish)
- Becomes immobile and eats its own brain. (Barnacle)
- Can stun other creatures by screaming loudly. (Dolphin)
- Taste buds all over its body (Catfish).
- Huge body. Tiny head. (Cotylorhynchus)
- 12-inch thick skin (Sperm whale)
- Broad protuberance on face that can be used to sense electromagnetic fields. (Platypus, Hammerhead shark)
- Telescoping, upward facing eyes surrounded by a transparent reflective dome. (Spookfish)
- Becomes almost supernaturally good at predicting the movements of other creatures, but needs to sit motionless for an hour observing the creature before it can act. (Portia)
- Defensive quills (Porcupine)
- Joints shift around so that it can curl up into a ball (3-banded armadillo)
- Beautiful unicorn horn. Actually a tooth. (Narwhal)
- Covered with spikes which transport fluid to the mouth. Eat soup by standing in it. (Moloch)
- Thin tail which can be used as a whip. (Thresher Shark)
- No lungs. Breathes through skin. (Various salamanders)
- Eyes on Swivels (Chamelon)
- Skin can change color and texture. (Octopus)
- Goofy-looking air-filtering nose. (Saiga Antelope)
- Venom coated spines. (Lionfish)
- Inflatable (Pufferfish)
- Tiny, pathetic, useless wings. (Kiwi)
- Limbs lined with razor sharp suction cups. (Squid)
- Scythe-like jaws (Bobbit Worm)
- Loose wrinkly skin (Shar Pei)
- Curled prehensile tail (seahorse)
- Reproduces by budding (Hydra)
- Body becomes nearly 2-dimensional. (Flounder)
- Can fit through any hole larger than its head. (Mouse)
- Eyes are useless. (Cave fish)
- Fleshy growths on the nose with a highly delicate sense of touch. Can predict earthquakes by shoving face into dirt. (Star-nosed Mole)
- Broad pads on feet which stick to walls. (Gecko)
- Filter feeds. Big feathery mouthparts. (Tamisiocaris)
- 5 eyes. Backwards-facing mouth. Bendy claw arm on face. (Opabinia)
- Third eye in the middle of the forehead. (Tuatara)
- Knees retract into the body. (Penguin)
- Covered in dense soft fur. Resistant to cold. Water becomes dangerous; must dust bathe. (Chinchilla)
- Hands or feet get turned around backwards. (Echidna)
- Resembles wood. (Stick Insect)
- Giant shovel hands. (Mole)
- Leaves behind a scent trail. (Various ants)
- Elongated neck. (Giraffe)
- No longer walks. Instead rolls like some sort of demented wheel. (Wheel spider)
- Bright eyespots to confuse predators. (Foureye butterflyfish)
- Hind legs replaced with long tail. (Mexican mole Lizard)
- Retractable spike that bursts out of the eyes. (Loach)
- Ribs flatten and fuse into internal turtleshell. (Eunotosaurus)
- Antennae that enhance sense of smell. ( Moth)
- Can explode! (Pea Aphid)
- Tiny malformed twin inside the skin. ( Navel Orange)
- releases an ink cloud when threatened (inkfish)
- covered in osteoderms (Heloderma)
- plays dead (possum)
- body parts that fall off to distract predators (gecko)
- extreme temperature resistance (tardigrade)
- can enter stasis (tardigrade)
- can rapidly regrow limbs (sea star)
- does not age (ocean quahog )
- can metamorphose into a new form (bug)
- is very fat (the squirrel in my yard)
- purifies its surroundings (rotifer)
- heat sensitive pits in its face (viper)
- a big nose for tracking smells (bloodhound)
- accute hearing (greater wax moth)
- echolocates (microbat)
- can sense magnetic fields (migratory birds)
- 360 degree vision (box jelly)
- ultraviolet vision (birds and bees)
- can see polarized light (mantis shrimp)
- a body covered in sensitive hairs (tarantula)
- big whiskers (sea lion)
- can sense blood (shark)
- an excellent sense of air pressure
- five feathery wings (microraptor)
- likes to ride around on a parachute (spiderling)
- can jump 10 times its own height (flea)
- can sprint at incredibly speeds (cheetah)
- is skilled at endurance running (Homo Sapiens)
- Burrows underground (earthworm)
- slithers (snek)
- is bouyant (otter)
- is amphibious (newt)
- skin that hypnotically pulses (cuttlefish)
- spotted skin(leopard)
- is more ugly than usual (matamata)
- a beautiful mane of soft hair (lion)
- reflective camouflage (Lookdown)
- attaches foliage to its own body (Decorator crab)
- too many limbs (frog in pollutted water)
- atrophied limbs (whale)
- fewer limbs than usual (mexican mole lizard)
- really short limbs (corgi)
- covered in fleshy protrusions that look like limbs but aren't really (caterpillar)
- extreme sexual dimorphism(angler fish)
- moves in packs (bison)
- is in a symbiotic relationship with another animal (leaf hopper)
- is part a eusocial hivemind (bee, ant, mole rat)
- produces an artistic mating display (puffer fish)
- engages in ritualistic combat (deer)
- is capable of language (human, maybe dolphin)
- perfectly Mimics Sounds (lyrebird)
- sings (peewee)
- huge cheek pouches (chipmunk)
- carries babies around in its mouth (croc)
- builds eleborate nests (Sociable weaver)
- forces other creatures to raise its young (cuckoo)
- has a strong nuturing instinct (gorilla)
- engages in war (ants)
- kills for fun (cat)
- can remember faces and holds a grudge (crow)
- has learned to engage in economic transactions (various primates)
- lays eggs (frog)
- suffers from alcoholism (monkey)
- uses tools (crow again)
- opposable thumbs (chimp)
- a vise-like grip (eagle)
- a prehensile {tongue|nose|lip|penis}(giraffe/elephant/horse/tapir)
- can eat stone (various fungi)
- drinks blood (mosquito)
- cookie-cutter jaws it uses to steal chunks of flesh (Cookiecutter shark)
- lives on top of another animal (clownfish)
- lives inside of another animal (pearlfish)
- replaces the body part of another creature (tongue-eating louse)
- can eat radiation (Radiotrophic fungus)
- can steal abilities from things it eats (Aeolid slug)
- farms another animal for food (dairying ants)
- has a symbiotic relationship with a plant (Microhyla nepenthicola)
- eats only meat(cat)
- vomits up nutritious food (seabird)
- levitates (hummindbird)
- weaves sticky nets (spider)
- glowing eyes (dog)
- membranous wings (bat)
- feathery wings (pigeon)
- insect wings (fly)
- lives in a swarm (krill again!)
- a second mouth that pops out from inside the first one(moray)
Edit: Here are a few more:
Hell yeah! Weird animals are the gift that keeps on giving.
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