Atlas of the World's Strangest Animals - Paula Hammond

According to a study in 2007, 1,263,186 animal species have so far been been named and scientifically described.This includes 950,000 species of insects, 9956 birds, 8240 reptiles, 6199 amphibians and 5416 mammals. When we consider that there are still parts of the world that are so inhospitable no human has ever set foot there, then it’s possible we may never know for sure just how many species we really share our planet with. However, what is certain is that many of the animals we are familiar with are truly remarkable. If we were to flick through this list of 1,263,186 species then, within it, we would find some of nature’s greatest curiosities: mammals that can fly and birds that can’t; frogs as small as fingernails and birds as big as horses. Here, we’d discover walking fish, brainless jellies, cannibals and camouflage experts.