10 blind animals

The phrase “blind as a bat” is a misnomer, as most bat species are believed to have the same or better vision than humans. This is an old tale of wives that has been passed down due to the nocturnal lifestyle of this species, but there are a surprising number of animals that do without sight. Despite the lack of what many creatures consider the most vital organic sense, many of these creatures manage to thrive despite the fact that they have no eyes or are blind for other reasons.

So how do these animals manage to develop in the complete absence of one of the five basic senses? Sometimes these creatures live in such a dark environment that vision doesn’t matter. Other blind animals rely on their different senses or even develop new senses to compensate for their lack of vision. But for some of these creatures, poor eyesight is a hindrance, which they manage to overcome with the help of their other unique abilities.

# 10Blind Animal: Star-Nosed Mole

The star-bearing mole is hunted by everyone, from domestic cats to hawks and foxes – a fact that would seem to make the continued survival of this blind animal impossible. But the fleshy tentacles that protrude from the mole’s face perfectly cover the eyes, allowing this strange creature to detect the vibrations of the Earth, as well as electric fields. Striking with tentacles about a dozen times per second, the star-bearing mole creates a complex vision of the world around it, which includes the presence of both predators and prey. Functionally, it changes vision to enhanced sense of touch.

The star mole is also one of the fastest diggers and eaters in the world, but you can find out many more facts about them here.

No. 9Blind animal: Hydra

The freshwater polyp literally has no eyes, but it still manages to hunt prey and evade predators by reacting to the light around it. In fact, these creatures only hunt during the day, as their behavior requires the conditions of traditional vision. Instead of using complex sensory receptors such as the eyes, simple light-sensitive cells within the creature autonomously fire the barb in the presence of light. Researchers see hydra as a primitive precursor to the human eye, but these creatures are more miraculously considered functionally immortal, as they seem to be completely unaffected by the aging process.

# eightBlind Animal: Naked Mole Rat

The naked mole rat is technically not blind, but its eyes are so small that they are of little value to these strange looking rodents. Instead, they rely more on their four other senses to operate both above ground and below ground, and these creatures actually see just as well in both light and darkness. Like the hydra, the naked mole rat has a quality that humanity can envy – the complete absence of receptors that make it feel pain.

The naked mole rat lives in an environment where poor vision is not a hindrance, but has also developed other weird environmental habits that you can learn about here.

# 7Blind animal: eyeless shrimp

Eyeless shrimp were discovered in 2012 thanks to the fact that they have adapted to life exclusively in the peculiar environment of volcanic sea vents, and the high temperatures of this ecosystem attract only the most daring predators. Ironically, these shrimp are actually born with eyes, but they lose their eyes and develop a light-sensitive element on their body when they reach adulthood. These primitive senses are, in fact, just capable of detecting light, but they are quite effective as a guide for shrimp, which move through the environment using infrared radiation. Scientists believe that changing from one sensory mechanism to another goes hand in hand with changing the diet of shrimp and their habitat as they age.

These eyeless crustaceans may be the most unusual members of the shrimp family, but you can find out more about their cousins ​​here.

# 6Blind animal: deep sea lobster

The first indication that a deep sea lobster is formally known as Dinochelus ausubeli – The blind may be the fact that it is an albino. The lack of pigmentation is characteristic of deep-sea creatures that do not need sun protection or camouflage from predators with functional eyes. Low vision is the main name of the game at these depths, and the deep-sea lobster uses unusually mismatched claws to hunt its prey and dodge predators.

This strange deep sea creature is just one of the latest of nearly 100 lobster species discovered, and you’ll find a lot of information about these crustaceans here.

# fiveBlind animal: Sinopod Skurion

If you want to have trouble sleeping at night, imagine an arachnid that doesn’t need eyes to be the perfect predator. This is the case with the cave-dwelling hunting spider, which does not sell the usual eight eyes at all. But this is a common thing, since the Lao cave where Sinopod Skurion It has also been found to be home to blind scorpions, fish and crabs. Ironically, the spider was named after the Swiss headlamp company Scurion, known for making even the deepest caves visible.

IN Sinopod Skurion this is just one of 1207 known species of hunting spider, which you can learn more about here.

# 4Blind Animal: Texas Blind Salamander

The deep waters in which the Texas blind salamander roam does not require vision, but you can still catch a glimpse of two black spots on the salamander’s face where its eyes should be. Otherwise, these albino amphibians perceive changes in water pressure as a way of detecting prey and detecting the proximity of predators. And because they live in an isolated habitat, these blind creatures manage to occupy the top of the food chain, which also consists of invertebrates such as snails and shrimps. Unfortunately, this species is under great threat of extinction due to limited habi
tat and human intervention.

The Texas blind salamander is also deaf like all other members of the salamander family, and you can learn more about their unique physiology here.

# 3Blind animal: Mexican tetra

As a species born exclusively in the waters of pure darkness, every Mexican tetra is born forced to survive from one touch. In fact, these fish are born with eyes that, over time, develop into eye sockets for storing fat deposits. But in addition to loss of vision and pigmentation, the skeleton of this cave fish mutates over time, causing it to swim counterclockwise and use swimming patterns that match the geography of the cave channel. But these fish manage to survive with such a clear lack of defense mechanisms and with only the most basic navigational tools, simply because they are the top predators in their habitat.

Despite some skeletal differences and blindness, these fish are no different from the standard tetra fish, which you can learn about here.

# 2Blind animal: Olm

The Texas Cave Salamander can only be found in a small patch of water in Texas, but it has a curiously similar relative that only exists in European waters. Olm is an albino salamander that only lives in water, but the two species seem to have evolved completely independently of each other. But olm captured the imagination of researchers because he can live for a century. No less fascinating is the olm’s method of navigation – the use of mechano-, chemo- and electroreceptors to comprehend their blind worlds.

Olmeister’s unique physiology makes it an interesting subject for researchers, and you can explore their results in more detail here.

Blind Animal # 1: Golden Mole

The terrifying tentacles devouring the star mole’s snout allow it to map the environment, but how does a relatively normal but blind golden mole understand its world? Research shows it all boils down to a combination of the unique environment they live in – the Sahara Desert – and the intricate design of their cranial bones. Research is still early, but it looks like their inner ear can sense the vibration frequency in the desert sand and use it to guide them towards prey and away from predators.

Next: Meet the 10 most beautiful yellow animals in the world.