This is actually a whole group of fish with a great variety of appearance and behaviors. The one that is most commonly portrayed is the Black Devil Angler fish with it's glowing lure, beady eyes and sharp spear-like teeth. There are other varieties that are less frightening in a traditional sense but potentially more creepy, like the Leafvent Angler whose males attach themselves to the female and meld with them, eventually becoming nothing more than a pair of testes.
2. Emerald Cockroach Wasp
It seems that nature has some bizarre methods for reproduction. In the case of the Emerald Cockroach Wasp, it all starts by creating a zombie. This solitary insect stings a cockroach twice injecting a venom which ultimately gives the wasp control of the roach using the roach's antenna. It then leads the roach to it's burrow so that it can lay it's a 2cm (0.78in) long egg on the roach's abdomen. The roach, now zombified, stays there while the egg hatches and the larva burrows into it to consume it's internal organs.
3. East African Giant Snail
This enormous Gastropod can have grow upwards of 20cm (7.87in) in length. That's certainly beyond the realm of a cute little snail, however; that's not the only thing that makes them disturbing. Apparently, when they infest an area, they are nearly impossible to eradicate. There have been many methods employed including flame throwers and containing/starving them with salt and pesticides which were quite ineffective.
4. The Sea Wasp
This is widely regarded as the most lethal of all box jellyfish. When hunting, the tentacles on this nightmare creature can be as long as 3m (9.8ft) long and are covered in many thousands of stinging cells that act as miniature darts injecting a very powerful venom. A fatal sting has been known to do it's work in less than 4 minutes on a full grown adult human. This is notably faster than snake, spider or insect venom. Many victims die from cardiac arrest or drowning before they can reach safety.
5. Hippopotamus
Chances are, if you are in Africa and are killed, then you were killed by a Hippopotamus. These enormous herbivores are exceptionally aggressive toward anything that they consider a threat especially when they have young present. This includes crocodiles, lions and human who they have been known to attack on site with no provocation. Dead crocodiles are enough to make me weary of this frightening beast.
6. The Platypus
While this odd looking mix of a beaver, an otter and a duck can appear to be cute in the eyes of the correct beholder, it hides a pain inducing secret. Hiding on the hind legs of the male platypus is a set of poisonous barbs that inject a cocktail of poisons unique to this creature. This poison which consists primarily of definsin-like proteins is capable of killing smaller animals such as dogs and cats but not plentiful enough in the sting of a platypus, however; it can cause such intense pain that it is possible to render a human unconscious. After the sting, a heightened sensitivity to pain has been reported to last from hours to months in a victim.
7. Tree Weta
The nearly impossible to kill Tree Weta can grow up to 40mm (1.5in) in length and most commonly inhabit holes in trees left by beetle and moth larvae. A chemical in their blood acts as a type of anti-freeze allowing them to be completely frozen down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit with no ill effects when thawed. Now the kicker, apparently as they freeze, their brain and heart dies. When they are thawed back out, the brain and heart come back to life making this insect nature's way of making a Romero film.
All of the creatures listed above would be considered exotic species here in Louisiana, so lets talk about something that is scary and found right here in Louisiana wetlands, the Cotton Mouth Snake or Water Moccasin. The Water Moccasin is an extremely venomous snake and the only semi-aquatic pit viper. Their bite is extremely painful and occasionally fatal. While the aggressive nature of the snake has bee exaggerated, they do not run when confronted and on rare occasions the male of the species has been known to approach humans.
9. Hurricanes
So far this list has concentrated on nature's frightening animals and insects but nature has more ways to scare us. Another force of nature that is common in the Gulf region of the United States is the hurricane. Many remember the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 which led to over 1500 human casualties and countless animal deaths. And though hurricane deaths are relatively low compared to other extreme weather deaths, the force itself is enough to give one pause. Hurricanes can grow larger than 888km (552mi) in diameter and garner winds that can reach up to 314km/h (195mph). It's no wonder hurricanes are the only natural disaster we give names to.
10. The Bubonic Plague
I think that a natural force that eradicated a 30 to 60% of the population of Europe in the 14th century is a great way to round out this list. The Y. pestis bacteria is the culprit responsible for the myriad of terrible symptoms that appeared during the plague including: acral gangrene, continuous vomiting, fever, muscle cramps, seizures and more. While we now have anti-bacterial treatments that can cure the plague, more and more infections diseases are becoming immune to our drugs and nature is always creating new single celled and micro-organisms to wreak havoc on us as a species.
