The top 10 natural oddities in pictures

Scientists at Syracuse University in New York chose the ten strangest new plants and animals from a pool of hundreds. They based their decisions on animals with peculiar habits or striking physical characteristics. This spider, which has been called "Cebrennus rechenbergi", escapes predators by doing cartwheels.

This frog (Limnonectes larvaepartus) made the list as a result of its ability to deliver live froglets. Unlike fellow members of Anura family, it doesn't lay eggs. Fertilization takes place inside the female, who gives birth to tadpoles. On this image, the female can be seen on the right.

This fish (Torquigener albomaculosus) builds nests that look like crop circles: round in shape and some two meters high. The male digs a trough using his vibrating anal fins and the rear end of his body.

Although this plant (Tillandsia religiosa) has long served as a Christmas decoration in Mexico, scientists have only recently become aware of it. Growing to heights of 1.50 meters, it can be found stuck to the surface of rocks. It blossoms between December and March.

Until recently, researchers had managed to overlook this delicate looking insect. (Phryganistria tamdaoensis) Some 25 cm in length and brown in color, it can easily pass for a stick. But now its identity has been revealed, it has become a favorite research object at the Tam-Dao National Park in northern Vietnam.

This snail (Phyllodesmium acanthorhinum) is perhaps one of the most beautiful in the species. It lives in the sea off Japan and measures a modest 17 to 18 mm. Apart from its diminutive size, its red, blue, white and gold coloring make it a sight to behold.

This newly discovered species has been extinct for a long time. The dinosaur known as "Anzu wyliei" is believed to have had a kind of beak, and feathered limbs and tail. But for all its plumage, it is thought to have been unable to fly. Fossils of the animal found in Dakota are some three and a half meters long and weigh in at 300 kg.

To date, around 50 samples of this plant (Balanophora coralliformis) have been found. It has long branches, roots that grow above ground, and is somehow reminiscent of corals. But it only grows on one particular mountain face on the Philippine island of Luzon - at altitudes of between 1,500 and 1,700 meters.

This little creature looks like a mushroom and has scientists scratching their heads. They can't work out if it is related to jellyfish or corals, or perhaps something else entirely. But they're on the case, and hope to have the answer soon.

This bone-house wasp might not look very unusual, but its behavior definitely is. It constructs a small chamber in which to lay its eggs and places a dead spider inside to serve as nutrition for its larvae. In a separate chamber, she collects dead ants. Exactly why, scientists don't know, but one theory suggests it is to deter unwanted visitors.