Animal Planet :: Howloween :: Lethal Lookers

Lethal Lookers

We know that beauty is only skin-deep. Too bad the victims of these killers — lured to their death by a sexy appearance — have never heard these words of wisdom. Bugs drown in a pool of acidic plant nectar, a turtle waves a pink wand then munches his lunch, and a glass-like microorganism traps tiny snacks. These predators look so good they barely have to move when hunting — the prey comes to them!

One look at these unusual hunters and their prey stops dead in their tracks, so shouldn't they earn The Medusa Medal for Lethal Looks?

Pitcher Plant
A plant that can drown animals? That's the pitcher plant. The name comes from the bright red and green, pitcher-shaped flower that attracts bugs to its waxy rim. There the bugs slip and slide, eventually lose their footing and fall into a deep, sugary pool of nectar and digestive juice. Most tire of swimming and eventually drown. It takes about two days for the pitcher to digest a house fly and less than two hours for a midge (a gnat-like insect). Pitcher plants live in wetlands known as bogs.
Don't be afraid. Get a closer look. >>

Alligator Snapping Turtle
The couch potato of the turtle world, the alligator snapping turtle is so sedentary that small plants grow on its shell. The algae growth helps camouflage the alligator turtle, which rests with its huge mouth open, revealing a pink, fleshy tissue dangling near the back. Unsuspecting fish come to investigate this interesting pink bait — and are swallowed whole or snapped in half by the alligator turtle's jaws.
Don't be afraid. Get a closer look. >>

Radiolaria
With their delicate, glassy skeletons, often perfectly geometric in form, these beautiful marine animals look like Christmas tree ornaments. What makes them good hunters are their long, pointed spines, which are covered in sticky mucus. The mucus traps food, which radiolaria take to their mouths and consume. Radiolaria are an ancient microscopic group of organisms that lives in all seas, but are especially common in the central Pacific Ocean bed.
Don't be afraid. Get a closer look. >>

Pictures: Image Bank/Getty Images | Peggy & Erwin Bauer/Animals Animals | Stone/Getty Images |
Written by Amy E. Nevala

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