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World's Hardest Creature X: NOMINATIONS thread





Withdean11

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2007
2,766
Brighton/Hyde
Tarantula Hawk - The wasp that kills tarantulas

http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20150109-the-wasp-that-scares-tarantulas

The pain inflicted by a tarantula hawk’s sting has been rated by Dr Schmidt as one of the worst in the insect world. He created the Schmidt sting pain index as a pain scale of all insect stings.
“A sting feels like a lightning bolt struck the spot; the pain is beyond imagination,” he says.
 


















whitelion

New member
Dec 16, 2003
12,828
Southwick
Emperor Penguin....

The emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching 122 cm (48 in) in height and weighing from 22 to 45 kg (49 to 99 lb). The dorsal side and head are black and sharply delineated from the white belly, pale-yellow breast and bright-yellow ear patches. Like all penguins it is flightless, with a streamlined body, and wings stiffened and flattened into flippers for a marine habitat.

Its diet consists primarily of fish, but can also include crustaceans, such as krill, and cephalopods, such as squid. In hunting, the species can remain submerged up to 18 minutes, diving to a depth of 535 m (1,755 ft). It has several adaptations to facilitate this, including an unusually structured haemoglobin to allow it to function at low oxygen levels, solid bones to reduce barotrauma, and the ability to reduce its metabolism and shut down non-essential organ functions.

The only penguin species that breeds during the Antarctic winter, emperor penguins trek 50–120 km (31–75 mi) over the ice to breeding colonies which may include thousands of individuals. The female lays a single egg, which is incubated by the male while the female returns to the sea to feed; parents subsequently take turns foraging at sea and caring for their chick in the colony. The lifespan is typically 20 years in the wild, although observations suggest that some individuals may live to 50 years of age.
 
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LlcoolJ

Mama said knock you out.
Oct 14, 2009
12,982
Sheffield
Tarantula Hawk - The wasp that kills tarantulas

http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20150109-the-wasp-that-scares-tarantulas

The pain inflicted by a tarantula hawk’s sting has been rated by Dr Schmidt as one of the worst in the insect world. He created the Schmidt sting pain index as a pain scale of all insect stings.
“A sting feels like a lightning bolt struck the spot; the pain is beyond imagination,” he says.

Seconded for the baby wasp being proper hard too. Basically torturing and murdering the tarantula from the inside......

Tarantula hawk wasps have to drag the sleeping spider – which can be up to eight times their weight – to a burrow, lay an egg on the tarantula and seal up the tunnel. The young wasp devours the tarantula in order to develop into an adult, eating the non-essential organs first to keep it alive for as long as possible.

Grim!
 


















Marty McFly

Seagulls Over Canada
Aug 19, 2006
3,389
La Pêche, Quebec
My first year of actually nominating but this creature is too mental not to be nominated

Bulldog Ant

Yes it's an Ant - but it holds a world record for being head mental and despite it's size has killed humans

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-dangerous-ant

'In attack it uses its sting and jaws simultaneously. There have been at least three human fatalities since 1936, the latest a Victorian farmer in 1988.

The bull dog ant earned its name because of its ferocity and determination during an attack. It is extremely aggressive and shows little fear of human beings, stinging a number of times in quick succession and therefore injecting more venom with each bite. In an attack, the ant will hold on to its victim with long, toothed mandibles, curl its body underheath and thrust its long barbless sting into the skin. On a few occasions this sting has been enough to kill adults within 15 minutes.'

Seconded!
 








scousefan

Well-known member
Apr 26, 2009
1,242
Liverpool
IMG_2292.JPG
The naked mole rat is only small, blind and lives underground. However it has teeth on the outside of its face and looks seriously ugly and evil. The main reasons I'm nominating are I is that for it's size it's one of the longest living creatures and can live up to 31 years. More incredibly they don't get cancer!
 



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