Salamander

Real Animals That Literally Have Superpowers

February 3, 2023 People's Tonight 426 views

Jacob Shelton

Since the dawn of the 20th century, man has created a bevy of wonder boys and super powered gals that can do anything under the sun. But would you believe that there are animals walking among us that can pretty much do exactly what our fictional heroes are doing in comic books and on the big screen? It’s always amazing to take a look at the cool things animals can do – from regenerating their limbs, to shooting blood out of their eyes, and even lifting a ton of weight with their face, the animal kingdom is truly full of superheroes. If you don’t believe us, take a look at this list of cool animal facts.

Animals with superpowers are in just about every comic, from Dynomutt the dog wonder, to K9 of Doctor Who fame. But those fictional pups are nowhere near as cool as the super-powered animals that appear on this list. Sure, Dynomutt might be able to fly, but that’s nothing an albatross can’t do. And we’re pretty sure that no fictional animal has the ability to live forever like one of the very special animals on this list. Take a peek at the animals with superpowers that are collected on this list, and think about which animal you’d most like to have in your corner if you saw a big bad coming your way.

Vote up the animals with the coolest abilities, then head to the comments to tells us all about how your cat has this neat superpower where it can sit still for hours at a time.

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• 1
A Salamander Superhero *Might* Be the Cutest Thing Ever

Salamander1Photo: Tawnyowl / Pixabay / Pixabay License

You guys, salamanders can regrow their limbs with a real regenerative healing factor. Scientists are in the early stages of reverse engineering the salamander’s healing power to lengthen the human life span.

Agree or Disagree?

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• • • 2
Alpine Ibex and the Secret of the Tin Can

AlpinePhoto: PBS / Facebook

The famed alpine ibex goat can run up walls at death-defying angles. It’s basically the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of goats.

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• • 3
Don’t Call the Archer Fish Puddin’

FishPhoto: ထူးထူးျခားျခား တိရစာၦန္မ်ား / Facebook

An archer fish is basically the Deadshot of the undersea world. Sniper fish shoot a water jet right out of their mouths with incredible accuracy. How? They compress their gill covers, and force water through a veritable “gun barrel” made by their tongue and the roof of their mouth.

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• • 4
Cuttlefish – Invisible Menace

CuttlefishPhoto: Bill Abbott / Flickr / CC-BY-SA 2.0

Did you know?

Cuttlefish is also ranked #37 of 46 on What Sea Creature Do You Want to Be?

How cool is it that a cuttlefish can make itself ~invisible~? Well not entirely invisible, but invisible to the human eye by changing its skin, much like Sue Storm from the Fantastic Four.

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More Cuttlefish

• #12 of 15 on

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• #37 of 46 on

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• #3 of 20 on

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• • 5
The Turritopsis Dohrnii Jellyfish Is Going to Live Forever

JellyfishPhoto: Jellyfish / Facebook

For at least 25 years scientists have been trying to crack the genetic code of the Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish, an aquatic animal that never seems to die, and can make itself younger whenever it needs to. Kind of like Thor, but a jellyfish.

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• • 6
Is That a Chainsaw, or a Lyrebird?

LyrebirdPhoto: Brian Ralphs / Flickr / CC-BY 2.0

The lyrebird has the crazy ability to mimic any sound that it hears, including chainsaws, cars, and other birds. It’s a bit reminiscent of Black Canary’s shriek.

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• • 7
Watch Out Spider-Man, Here Comes an Electric Eel?

EelPhoto: Mehfazal Ahmed / Facebook

Most kids go through a phase where they can’t seem get enough information about piranhas and electric eels. Even though electric eels sound ridiculous, their ability to produce an electric shock is very real.

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• • 8
But Can the Mimic Octopus Turn Into a Pizza?

OctoposPhoto: Steve Childs / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY 2.0

Did you know?

Octopus is also ranked #6 of 46 on What Sea Creature Do You Want to Be?

The mimic octopus might be creepy, but it’s also one of the most adept animals when it comes to hiding from its predators. It’s so smart that it’s able to discern which sea creature it would be best to impersonate when faced with a possible predator. If this thing isn’t Mystique, we don’t know what is.

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More Octopus

• Why Did Octopuses Beach Themselves In Mass, Alarming Numbers?

• #11 of 15 on

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• #5 of 46 on

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• • 9
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s a… Laysan Albatross?

AlbatrossPhoto: Dick Daniels / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA 3.0

An albatross can travel thousands of miles on wind currents without ever flapping its wings. It’s all very Superman.

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• • 10
How Cute Would a Hummingbird Be in a Little Red Suit?

HummingbirdPhoto: Mdf / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA 3.0

If you’ve ever seen a hummingbird in flight then you know already know that it’s an amazing creature. But did you know that hummingbirds are the fastest animal, relative to their size? A scientist measured them moving at up to 385 body lengths per second (blps) – around 27.3 meters per second.

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• 11
Sadly, a Platypus Cannot Be Your Lawyer

PlatypusPhoto: Peter Scheunis / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY 1.0

The platypus is one of the most interesting mammals that exists today. Not only can it lay eggs, but it can construct a three-dimensional electrical picture of its environment with an “electro-detection” sense in its beak.

• 560 votes

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• • 12
Water Boatman, Master of the Highlands

BoatmanPhoto: Peter O’Connor aka anemoneprojectors / Flickr / CC-BY-SA 2.0

The Water Boatman is a tiny bug, but it can make a sound that blasts out at 99.2 decibels, about the volume of a loud orchestra, which is insane because the Boatman is about as big as your fingernail. How does it do this? It rubs its penis against its abdomen in a process known as “stridulation.”

Move this critter to Scotland and name it Banshee.

• 462 votes

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• 13
Tardigrade Is the Saddest Microrganism

TardigradePhoto: Schokraie E, Warnken U, Hotz-Wagenblatt A, Grohme MA, Hengherr S, et al. (2012) / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.5

The tardigrade is an organism that can survive in any type of scenario In space? Check. Underwater? No probz. In a nuclear blast? DUH! Much like Dr. Manhattan, the tardigrade is nigh indestructible, and also a bit of a lonely god.

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• • 14
The Rodent with the Mouth

RodentPhoto: Jedimentat44 / Flickr / CC BY 2.0

No one knows why, but naked mole rats can’t get cancer. Scientists have studied their genes and are working on a way to clone and sequence their DNA. Averse to cancer, literal lab rats, crazy skin – these guys are basically the Deadpool of the animal kingdom.

• 483 votes

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• • 15
Do Hairy Frogs Say Snikt?

FrogsPhoto: Gustavocarra / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA 4.0

What is happening with these hairy frogs? Who told them they could break their bones, push it through their skin and use them as claws? The frog is a bit similar to Wolverine – do you think they smoke cigars and call everyone, bub?

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• • 16
The Horned Lizard Is Bloody Spectacular

LizardPhoto: Ah-lex Beh / Facebook

If you ever get up in a horned lizard’s business, you better get ready to be sprayed with blood. If the horned lizard were an X-Man it would be Cyclops – only way cooler and messier.

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• • 17
They Should Have Called It “The Butt Stuff Beetle”


BeetlePhoto: Katja Schulz / Flickr / CC-BY 2.0

When a bombardier beetle needs to make a quick getaway, what does it do? Not much. It simply induces a chemical explosion inside its shell to create a boiling, toxic liquid, which it sprays at its aggressor – much like The Flash’s nemesis, The Mist.

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• • 18
Pit Vipers Assemble!

VipersPhoto: David Frohlich / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA 4.0

Similar to Vision’s skill, a pit viper has the ability to see the heat coming off a living being’s body. As soon as a viper learns to fly and joins the Avengers, we’re effed.

• 385 votes

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• • 19
Spotted Hyena Lad

HyenaPhoto: flowcomm / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY 2.0

Hyenas are kind of like the Matter Eater Lad of the animal kingdom – they can eat anything and people kind of forget about them.

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• • 20
Nobody Listen to the Cuckoo

CuckooLike the sleazy baddie from Marvel’s Jessica Jones, the cuckoo bird uses its voice to make other birds do the one thing they don’t want to do – foster the cuckoo’s eggs while ignoring their own.
Is this cool?
Like the sleazy baddie from Marvel’s Jessica Jones, the cuckoo bird uses its voice to make other birds do the one thing they don’t want to do – foster the cuckoo’s eggs while ignoring their own.

Is this cool?

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