The largest turtle ever recorded anywhere in the world washed up dead at Harlech North Wales in 1988. It was a male leatherback that drowned after becoming entangled in buoy ropes and it weighed 916kg and measured 2.91 metres in length (pictured above). It is now on display at the National Museum and Galleries of Wales in Cardiff.
The largest species of crocodile is the Saltwater Crocodile and one of the biggest specimens was Gomek (on the photo), measured 5.5 m (17.9 feet) and weighed well over 2,000 pounds (roughly 900 kg) when he died in February 1997. Gomek was captured by George Craig in Papua New Guinea and sold to St. Augustine Alligator Farm in Florida. George also captured even larger crocodile, Oscar, who currently lives on Green Island in Queensland.
In other web-sites we can find that the two largest crocodiles in captivity are Cassius at Marineland Melanesia on Green Island, Australia and Chai Yai (probably on the picture with Steve Irwin), a saltwater/siamese hybrid.
Once we determined that the largest species of African Tetra is the Goliath African Tigerfish (Hydrocynus goliath), we have to try to find also the biggest specimen on record, which is slightly more difficult task. So far what I found we can see on this picture of particularly large exemplar with weight of 36 kg (this is the photo of the biggest one that I found and there was information for slightly bigger specimen but without photo). Supposedly the Tigerfish can reach up to 50 or even 70 kg.
Another big Tigerfish.
The largest species of freshwater turtles is The Alligator Snapping Turtle. There are notes that the biggest specimen on record was either one who had a weight of 107 kg (236 lb) and was housed at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, Illinois according to Wikipedia, either another one who weighted 113 (249 lb) from the Tennessee Aquarium. Actually this one on the photo is named Big Bill and while not the biggest one, it is still likely to be near 100 kg (220 lb).
The African Tigerfish (Hydrocynus goliath) has one of the most horrific aspects, which fresh-water creature can have and also is the largest Tetra, which fact brings to mind the parallel between the house cat and the tiger, which seems oddly fitting in this case. They can grow up to 1.80 m (6 feet). There is something unnatural in their appearance, the teeth are somehow too big and sharp for the rest of the body, also the colour of the teeth is yellowish which looks also abnormal for fish, which would've been a bit more ordinary if it had at least white teeth. And overall it plainly looks like a movie monster.
The largest hailstone ever measured, 17.8 cm (7.0 in) in diameter, with a 47.6 cm (18.75 in) circumference. 
Little Barrier Island giant weta or Wetapunga (Deinacrida heteracantha) from New Zealand is regarded to be the world's biggest insect, more certainly to say the heaviest. The scientific name of the genus is Deinacrida, which in means "Terrible grasshopper" in the Greek language. There is documented specimen of 71gr, which is heavier than sparrow or mouse. As well there are more insects pretending for the title largest, mostly of them beetles, but there is not documented heavier specimen as far as I know.
The Box jellyfish, called Sea Wasp (Chironex fleckeri) is the deadliest species of jellyfish. Also it is wide regarded as the deadliest creature ever. They can kill human only in 3 min and the sting is extremely painful.
Apparently the most venomous spider is the Brazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria spp.). Phoneutria nigriventer's extreme toxicity in a table showing that the amount necessary to kill a 20gm mouse was only .006mg (intravenously) and .0134 subcutaneously as compared to Latrodectus mactans (Black Widow) at 0.110 and 0.2 respectively. Recent studies suggest that these spiders only inject venom in approximately one-third of their bites and may only inject a small amount in another third. The evidence, so far, clearly shows that both P. nigriventer and P. fera (on the photo) are extremely dangerous.
The funnel web spiders are another very venomous genus. Atrax robustus (on the photo) and Atrax formidabilis arguably are the most venomous and dangerous spiders in the world according with AFPMB.
The widow spiders are very dangerous too. The venom is not as potent as in the case of the two genuses above, but the evidence shows that there is comparable amount of deaths and health problems caused by these spiders. Relatively to the most of the spiders their venom is still very potent, (15 times more potent than that of the rattlesnakes; it is also reported to be much more potent than the venom of cobras and coral snakes). For Latrodectus mactans the amount of venom necessary to kill a 20 gm mouse was 0.110 mg (intravenously) and 0.2 mg subcutaneously. 63 deaths were reported in the United States between 1950 and 1989. Prior to the development of antivenom, 5% of reported bites resulted in fatalities. On the photo black widow (possibly Latrodectus mactans) - one of the most dangerous in the genus.
The world's largest centipede is Scolopendra gigantea. They can exceed 30 cm length and they are very fierce arthropods, which are also venomous, aggressive and fast. They will attack and eat even mice and small birds. On this video (YouTube) we can see a smaller specimen, only 23 cm.
In search for the biggest wasp in the world, I stumbled across the Tarantula Hawks (Pepsis heros), which often are considered to be the world's largest wasps with body length of up to 7 cm and wingspan of 11 cm. There are some more species in the same genus Pepsis (for example Pepsis apicata) with similar dimensions and nearly indistinguishable shape and colour. Also the sting is among the most painful of any insect. Actually on the picture is suggested to be the smaller Pepsis toppini, but is very difficult to be sure even for a specialist.
Generally it is accepted that the lowest possible age for a human female to be able to give birth to be around 12 years, which is not big exception in certain places and countries, but there are very strange cases of births at 5, 8 or 9 years. Lina Medina who gave birth at the age of 5 years, 7 months and 21 days is the youngest confirmed mother in medical history. |
| Lion's Mane Jellyfish (Cyanea capillata), Courtesy Foto: E. Svensen |
Nomura's jellyfish (Nemopilema nomurai ) is one of the largest species of jellyfish. It lives near to Japan and is known in Japanese as echizen kurage. They are growing up to 2m (6 ft 7 inches) in diameter and weighting up to 200kg (440 lb).
Another massive species is Black sea nettle (Chrysaora achlyos).
The Golden Poison Frog (Phyllobates terribilis) found in the South America's jungles has poison which contains the most potent toxin produced by an animal, called Batrachotoxin, with LD50 1 to 2 µg/kg. The lethal dose for human in the blood stream is approximately 100 micrograms or weight, which is the equivalent of two grains of fine table salt. A wild adult specimen has up to 2 milligrams of the toxin, or 50 times the lethal dose for the humans. Currently there is no effective antidote and treatment for batrachotoxin poisoning doesn't exist. Shot with poison darts made from batrachotoxin provoke nerve paralysis almost instantaneous. The poison preserve quality even dried up for nearly 2 years. However in captivity this frog will lose the poison and will become harmless.
The Inland Taipan from Australia is considered to be the world's most venomous land snake. It has LD50 of 0.025 mg/kg. The venom contained in a single bite is enough to kill 100 humans. Compare this with some other snakes here.
The Death Cap is considered to be the most poisonous mushroom in the world. It is estimated that half a cap (30 grams) is enough to kill a human. Cooking, boiling, freezing, drying or any other process don't reduce the toxicity. It is widely distributed on all continents except of Antarctica.
According to some sources the Black Fat Tail Scorpion is the most venomous scorpion, with highest LD-50 (median lethal dose) about 0.16 - 0.5 mg/kg lethal dose. It has probably highest ratio of stings to fatalities in humans.
Number two is the Deathstalker, often cited (Wikipedia) as world's most venomous or deadliest, that mean that he is may be the actual champion.
The Asian Giant Hornet is one of the most fearsome insects ever. It is the largest hornet in the world and the most venomous insect per sting.
There really are miniature horses (often called mini horses). The name of the brown one is Thumbelina. She holds the title for the world's smallest horse in the Guinness Book of Records with her 17 inches. The minihorses are true horses, but bred to be very small.
