Moss and Fog Best Animal Posts of 2022

 

Animals inspire us, bring out our curiosity, our innate fascination with nature, and our love of cute and furry.

We’ve posted about dozens of amazing animal discoveries this year, as well as articles about rare, endangered, and stunning animals. Take a look at some of our top posts below.

 

 

Stunning New Fish Species Discovered in The Maldives

It’s not very often that brand new species of shallow-water fish are found, let alone ones as stunningly colorful as this. The Rose-Veiled Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa) was officially declared a newly discovered species this month.

Better yet, it is the first time a Maldivian scientist has discovered a new species. It shows not only how vast the animal world is, but how precious our oceans are, when undiscovered fish can be swimming under our noses for so long.

 

 

 

Iceland Invites You to Relax While a Horse Replies To Your Emails

Iceland has run a number of clever, funny, and downright weird marketing campaigns in the last several years.

Their latest continues the humorous approach, with a campaign called OutHorse Your Email.

In involves real horses who were trained to type on a giant keyboard. Yes, you read that correctly.

 

 

 

Witness a Managerie of Weird Deep Water Fish beneath Monterey Bay

MBARI, or the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute gives us a fascinating look at the weird and wonderful creatures that live in the deep water of Monterey Bay and beyond. Indeed, the waters reach depths of 1500 meters, or 4900 feet in the bay, allowing for nature to evolve some truly bizarre and unique ocean creatures.

 

 

Rare Scarab Beetle in Costa Rica Looks Like It’s Made from Chrome

Beetles come in manner of form and color, with over 30,000 types of Scarab beetles alone. Many of them are known for their colorful shells, adorned with all manner of pattern and hue.

Michael Farmer in Costa Rica recently came across a rare beetle on his property, one that looks like it as made of polished chrome. Known as Chrysina limbata, this beautifully shiny specimen is quite the sight to behold, reflecting Farmer and his camera perfectly in the photographs.

 

 

Christies to Auction Full T-Rex Skeleton for Over $25,000,000

You can own this once-in-a-lifetime Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton when it comes up at auction at Christie’s in Hong Kong this November.

You’d better prepare to pay big, this amazing specimen was discovered in Montana, measuring 43 feet long and 16 feet tall. A full T-Rex skeleton has never gone on display in a museum in Asia, let alone up for sale, so prices are expected to exceed $25 million dollars.

 

 

 

Heidi Klum Wins Halloween Again, This Time By Transforming Herself Into a Giant Worm

Heidi Klum, the German American supermodel, is known for making a splash with her over-the-top Halloween costumes. In true originality fashion, she eschews ‘sexy versions’ of costumes, and goes for something truly unique and unexpected.

In years past she’s shown up to events (or her own parties) as Fiona from Shrek, a gigantic butterfly, a wildly-realistic version of herself as an elderly woman, and even Michael Jackson from Thriller. Vogue UK has a great collection of her past costumes, going back twenty years.

This time she spent nearly two years perfecting her craziest costume yet: an earthworm.

 

 

 

Impressive Owl Camouflage on Display, Can You Spot Them?

When you think of camouflage in the animal world, owls might not be top of mind.

But indeed owls are masters of blending into their surroundings, waiting for their prey to be in range of a strike. They wait patiently, using their impressive vision to spot their target. They can then swoop down silently on their prey, utilizing special feathers that eliminate noise from their wings.

 

 

Sky Puppies and the Strange World of Domesticated Silk Moths

For generations, humans have domesticated silk moths, or Bombyx mori. Indeed, China has been breeding silkworms for silk for over 5,000 years. This luxurious fabric is prized the world over for its strength, softness and shimmering appearance.

The cocoon of the moth is made of the silk strands that are so sought after, and a single cocoon can have threads that stretch 300-900 meters in length.