We wants to show you some of the largest examples of life, and the bonus picture will definitely surprise you. One of them has a tongue heavier than an elephant! Another builds 3-meter-wide nests. They are big, strong, fast, and incredible.
1. Biggest Insect — The Goliath Beetle
It seems that the name Goliath is very popular for the largest species in the animal world. This beetle certainly earns respect with its size. The male can grow up to 4.3″ (110 mm). If you think this is large, what would you say about its larva, which can reach 3.5 oz (100 g)? Luckily for all of us, the adults weigh only about half of this.
2. Biggest Spider — The Goliath Birdeater
He has 8 legs and is very long and hairy with a span of up to 12″ (28 cm). Imagine these legs crawling all over you, carrying the 4.7″ (12 cm) body. If you have arachnophobia, that would be your worst nightmare. Although this spider is absolutely harmless to humans, it can still bite if it feels attacked. Plus the size is just freaky.
3. Biggest Flowering Plant — Rafflesia
This plant is a parasite and has no leaves, stems, or even roots, just one enormous stinky flower. The flower can grow up to 39″ (100 cm) in diameter and weigh up to 22 lb (10 kg). It’s known for its very unique smell of rotting flesh. The smell attracts flies, which move pollen from the male to female species.
4. Biggest Jellyfish — The Lion’s Mane
This jellyfish is ferocious and savage with its sting. That is a testimony from every surfer who has come into its domain. Every lifeguard knows that if somebody gets a jellyfish sting, vinegar is the best treatment for the fire that has been ignited. Well, you would need a whole tank of vinegar if you met this baby. Its body can grow up to 6 ft, and the tentacles can be as long as 100 ft. Like all jellyfish, it’s mainly water — 95% to be precise. That is lots of water and lots of jelly. An interesting fact about this thing: it glows in the dark.
5. Biggest Protist — The Giant Kelp
If you like seaweed salad, this sea plant would make you very happy. It’s big. Really big. It could feed the entire planet because it can grow up to 2 ft a day and reach over 150 ft. Maybe we have no reason to worry about Earth getting overpopulated and not having enough food for all of us — we just need to change our diet.
It grows as a seaweed forest, and you need to be very careful about whom you may meet there. Sea lions often play “hide and seek” with great white sharks in this ocean bush.
6. Biggest Marine Animal — The Blue Whale
The blue whale is not just the biggest marine animal, it’s the largest animal ever known on Earth. These epic kings of the oceans can be up to 100 ft long and weigh up to 200 tons. Their heart on its own can weigh as much as a car. It’s surprising, but this giant lives on the smallest marine creatures — krill — and eats around 36 tons of krill daily. Despite being so huge, they are very good swimmers and divers. And yes, his tongue weighs as much as an elephant.
7. Biggest Mammal — The African Bush Elephant
“If you are on an African safari and see me, do not annoy me because I can toss your 4WD like a 3-year-old does with a Tonka truck. I am not vicious, but I will not tolerate any disrespect.” Despite such an impressive size, African bush elephants can move very quickly: normal walking speed is about 4 mph. They are also very good swimmers. They spend most of the day (about 16 hours) eating, and they consume 300-450 pounds of food every day. Imagine how much they poop…
The trunk has 100,000 different muscles and is used for many different tasks: breathing, smelling, drinking, and grabbing things.
8. Biggest Fish — The Ocean Sunfish
This is the heaviest bony fish, and it can weight up to 1 ton. Surprisingly, despite their massive size, their main food is jellyfish. Perhaps the Lion’s Mane from the picture above? They can jump out of the water, and it’s been reported that a mola (another name for this fish) jumped straight into a boat, giving some fishermen a big fright.
9. Biggest Reptile — The Saltwater Crocodile
If you come across the saltie and he smiles at you, he is not really smiling because he is happy to make your acquaintance. He is VERY happy to see you because it’s lunchtime. Or dinnertime. Or whatever the meal may be…
Saltwater crocodiles hold the record not only for their size, which is up to 20.7 ft (6.3 m), but also for the strongest bite force: 16,414 N (3,690 lbf). An amazing fact is that the gender of a baby croc depends on the temperature of the nest. A lower temperature brings mainly female crocodiles, and boys like a slightly warmer nest.
10. Biggest Turtle — The Leatherback
According to Mr. Google, Michael Jordan’s height is 6′ 6″. Well, this cute turtle can grow just as tall. Or long… The bottom line is they can grow up to around 6′ 6″ long and weigh up to a massive 1,985 lb — that’s heavier than 9 Michael Jordans. The leatherback got its name from its shell. It’s not hard like all other turtles but quite flexible, soft, and leathery. Leatherbacks have been around for a very long time, apparently about 100 million years. They are excellent divers and can go as deep as 3,900 ft.
11. Biggest Flying Bird — The Kori Bustard
This bird can grow up to 4 ft in length and 5 ft in height. Although they can fly, they are much more comfortable staying on the ground, getting into the air only when they need to escape from predators.
12. Biggest Flightless Bird — The Ostrich
This bird is huge. Its wingspan reaches nearly 6.5 ft. It has an incredible weapon: strong powerful legs, which are capable of not only running away from danger but kicking. Even UFC champions would be jealous of those kicks. They have not just one but 3 stomachs. They are amazing runners, able to sprint up to 40 mph. They make enormous nests — 10 ft wide. Well, we guess that’s not too much considering their eggs are 6″ long. Both parents look after the eggs — the female during the day and the male at night.
13. Biggest Snake — The Green Anaconda
The life-ending clasp of the giant green anaconda can only be compared to that gorgeous girl you married at the age of 19, who is now your ex and sucking the financial life out of you through her lawyer. Just kidding.
These snakes are an impressive 440 lb and 30 ft in length. They are not venomous, but their size and strength make them quite dangerous. To get food, they wrap their body around a target and squeeze. After a big meal, they normally rest for a few weeks.
Bonus: Honey Mushrooms
When you started reading this article, you were only thinking about birds, animals, insects, and plants. Maybe bacterias or small organisms. Here is a surprise for you, a 2,400-year-old mushroom, which covers more than 3.4 square miles (8.8 square km). This type of fungi is parasitic and grows on trees and shrubs, forming massive conglomerates, which live like one large organism.
