From Europe to America
Also known as the long-nosed monkey, the unusually large nose of this species can exceed 10.2 cm (4 in) in length, and hangs lower than the mouth.
This baboon species is named for its coat, but its alternative name Anubis baboon comes from the Egyptian god Anubis, who was usually represented by a dog head and snout resembling the canine-like muzzle of the baboon.
The world's largest monkey also has the most colorful of muzzles. No other mammal is known to have red and blue pigments. Both male and female possess this characteristic, though the male snout is flashier.
With their head and neck suggestive of a horse, these beautiful and delicate marine fish have long, thin snouts, enabling them to probe into nooks and crannies for food, which they suck up like a vacuum cleaner.
Elephant nose fish are native to the rivers of West and Central Africa. The trunk-like protrusion on the head for which it's named is not actually a nose, but a sensitive extension of the mouth, which it uses for communication, navigation, and self-defense (within the protrusion is a weak electric field that the fish uses to electrocute its prey).
An elephant's trunk is actually a long nose used for smelling, breathing, trumpeting, and drinking. The animal also uses it for grabbing things—especially a potential meal. And on occasion, the resourceful and super intelligent elephant will even use its trunk as a snorkel while swimming. Clever, eh?
A species of turtle native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea, the pig-nosed turtle is named for its odd-looking nose, which resembles that of a pig, having the nostrils at the end of a fleshy snout.
These pigeons literally follow their noses home by gathering smells through well-developed nostrils and building up a road map based on odors in the wind. Apparently the right nostril is slightly more sensitive than the left.
Anteaters have pliable, elongated snouts equipped with a thin tongue that can be extended to a length greater than the length of the head—handy for probing into ant and termite nests.
An Armadillo's sense of smell is so acute it often allows the mammal to pick up on odors that are tucked away under roughly 15.5 cm (6 in) of dirt. Known for their elongated snouts, one particular species is actually called the southern long-nosed armadillo, which is native to South America.
A characteristic anatomical feature of this endangered species is its proboscis, a highly flexible organ, able to move in all directions, and which allows the animals to grab foliage that would otherwise be out of reach. Tapirs are found in South and Central America, and Southeast Asia, regions that rank among the most rewarding wildlife destinations.
The pangolin is the most trafficked animal in the world, its scales prized in countries like China and Vietnam for a variety of ailments, the effectiveness of which is absolutely nil. Pangolins feed on ants and termites using long tongues housed in tough, elongated snouts.
The Sunda flying lemur can glide for a distance of up to 100 m (328 ft). These creatures, also known as colugos, have a gliding membrane that connects from the neck, extending along the limbs to the tips of the fingers, toes, and nails. Their sense of smell is acute, less so their vision. In fact, they use their highly sensitive noses to assist in navigation.
These guys can weigh in at an impressive 2,500 kg (5,500 lbs) and are named for the large proboscis of the huge adult male (bull), reminiscent of an elephant's trunk.
Did you know that a walrus has up to 700 quill-like whiskers in 13 to 15 rows on its snout? And what about those two canine teeth in the upper jaw modified into long ivory tusks? The whiskers, by the way, help this huge mammal identify prey.
The "hammer" shape of this species of shark is called a cephalofoil and may have evolved at least in part to enhance the animal's vision. While not a nose as such, the pores on the shark's head lead to sensory tubes, which detect electric fields generated by other living creatures.
Sources: (World Land Trust) (National Geographic) (National Wildlife Federation) (APOPO) (Science Magazine) (Journal of Experimental Biology)
One of the weirdest-looking schnozes in the animal kingdom belongs to the snub-nosed monkey. Little more than a pair of exposed nostrils arranged forward, this odd configuration can sometimes cause the monkey to sneeze when it rains.
While it is not closely related to the pig, or indeed the anteater, the aardvark nonetheless has a long pig-like snout, which is used to sniff out food.
The hornlike extension of the forehead present in some species lends this fish its romantic-sounding moniker. A prized catch, unicorns taste good and are served as a seafood delicacy, especially in Japan.
The nose extension of this member of the ray family is lined with sharp transverse teeth, arranged in a way that resembles a saw. It's why this fish is sometimes called a carpenter shark.
The bizarre star-shaped snout belonging to this tiny mostly subterranean mammal bristles with more than 25,000 minute touch receptors known as Eimer's organs, which help it feel its way around.
Elephant shrews, or sengis, have their own little trunks, which they use to track down prey, using their long tongues to flick up tasty insects treats.
The real "unicorn of the sea" is the narwhal, the tusk of which is actually a protruding canine tooth rather than a incredibly long and thin nose.
Known also as the duck-billed platypus for its paddle-like snout, where the nostrils are located on the dorsal surface of the nose, the platypus is one of the few species of venomous mammals, the male possessing a spur on the hind foot that delivers venom.
This critically-endangered antelope is distinguished by a pair of closely spaced, bloated nostrils directed downward. A saiga's nose helps filter out dry summer dust kicked up by the herd and cools the animal's blood. In the winter, it heats up the frigid air before it is taken to the lungs.
The Vietnamese breed of small domestic pig known as the pot-bellied pig has a turned up snout, which it uses for foraging rice straw and water plants.
With its very poor eyesight, it's perhaps no wonder that the Gambian pouched rat depends so much on its senses of hearing and smell. In fact, their large and robust snouts are so sensitive that these rates are trained to sniff out landmines and can even detect tuberculosis in humans.
The world of wildlife never ceases to amaze. But there are some species out there that possess truly bizarre physical attributes, not least odd-looking noses. But who's got the most ungainly schnoz, the weirdest muzzle, the most hilarious hooter?
Click through and sniff out the goofiest snouts in the animal kingdom.
The goofiest snouts of the animal kingdom
Who's got the strangest noses in the world of wildlife?
TRAVEL Wildlife
The world of wildlife never ceases to amaze. But there are some species out there that possess truly bizarre physical attributes, not least odd-looking noses. But who's got the most ungainly schnoz, the weirdest muzzle, the most hilarious hooter?
Click through and sniff out the goofiest snouts in the animal kingdom.