**Ah, nature.** The spoils of the outdoors are vast and varied, replete with an endless arrangement of complexities and subtle nuances. Nature-lovers have all spent time contemplating anthills, appreciated a brisk swim in a salty, buoyant ocean, or geeking out over a magnificently bright-colored mushroom growing out of the mud. If you don’t have time to travel to exotic natural locations, or even get outside and take a walk, you’re going to love these pictures. Each one of them, in its own way, proves that Mother Nature is a selfless producer of all things amazing and unique. **#18 will make you question every rock you’ve ever seen.**Starfish like a little umami in their diets, too.
This is the only naturally-occuring eucalyptus species in the northern hemisphere. The bark sheds at different times to expose a bright green inner bark, which then fades to other hues.
This monochrome sheep is native to Switzerland, and is raised for both it’s wool and meat.
Native to the Amazon, the pygmy marmoset is the smallest monkey in the world.
Also simply known as Romanesco, this edible flower bud is native to Italy but can be found all over the world.
Couroupita guianensis, known by several common names, including cannonball tree, is the tree that houses the delicious Brazil nut.
The coconut crab is the largest species of hermit crab in the world.
One of the largest breeds in the world, the Tibetan mastiff is native was originally domesticated by nomadic tribes in Tibet, India, and China.
Bismuth is a naturally occurring crystal. Yes, that’s right: It just looks like this.
This insect has only been spotted a few times, and it’s actually a variety of wingless wasp. It is rumored to have an incredibly potent sting.
Female velvet ants are actually wingless wasps with lush, bright-colored hair on their bodies.
This tortoise is side-necked, which means that it hides its neck and head sideways into its shell instead of pulling it inward.
One of the many incredible sights in Kerala, India.
Starfish have extremely complex life cycles, and they can reproduce both asexually and sexually.
These enormous beef cattle are “double-muscled” due to an increased number of muscle fibers.
Here, we have a rare peek at a baby kangaroo inside its mother’s pouch.
Also known as the pygmy antelope, this little guy is actually full-grown.
Pyura chilensis might look like a fancy stone, but it’s actually a sea creature, an edible delicacy in Peru in Chile.
In Venezuela, this storm occurs up to 160 nights per year, for 10 hours per day. The storm collects at the mouth of the Catatumbo River.
This fish looks relatively normal when it’s not threatened. However, should a predator approach, the sarcastic fringe head lets loose and shows off its chops.
Every year in the fall, 120 million crabs on Christmas Island, Australia, begin to migrate to the ocean to find a mate. In fact, traffic on the island is halted to let the crabs pass.
Though it looks like fluffy white hair sprouting out of plants, this is actually the combination of cold temperatures and a plant-found bacteria that raises the plant’s freezing point.
The blobfish lives off the coasts of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, and always looks like it’s disappointed in you.
Bred to work in the chilly Alps, the Bergamasco sheepdog evolved to grow thick dreads to keep it warm.
This “cat” is actually a member of the raccoon family, and it lives in the dries regions of North America.
The Enypniastes lives at depths up to 16,400 feet. The red area pictured is the creature’s mouth.
Oddly adorable, these moles have tentacles on their noses. The tentacles give them a great sense of touch – which is lucky, because the star-nosed mole is mostly blind.
Cicada’s are the coolest, loudest insect, and there are more than 1,500 species of them.
Lenticular clouds form when water-saturated air flows over a mountain an layer on top of one another. Unsurprisingly, many people have identified them as UFOs.
