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Trapdoor spider -

This unique species of spider spends much of its life in a burrow underground. Rather than spinning a web to catch its prey, it hides behind a silken-hinged trap door, feeding quickly by opening the door and grabbing any insect that has ventured too near the entrance.

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Assassin bug -

Assassin bugs are predatory insects that lurk among foliage and on flowers to ambush other insects as food. These critters number more than 160 species and, in fact, are beneficial to farmers in that they feed mostly on crop pests.

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Ambush bug -

There are 291 species of ambush bug worldwide, each capable of launching a surprise attack on hapless victims using their powerful forelegs to grab and hold prey. Fans of DC Comics will recognize Ambush Bug as a superhero, who enjoys a cult following.

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Tarantula hawk -

It takes courage to take down a tarantula, but this bug, a species of spider wasp, has honed its assault skills to perfection. The female uses its sting to paralyze its hairy adversary, but doesn't kill it. Instead, she lays a single egg on the spider's body. Later, after hatching, the larva burrows its way inside the spider's abdomen and begins feasting on the still-living tarantula. By the way, a sting from a tarantula hawk is one of the most painful and debilitating a human can experience!

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Goliath birdeater -

The largest spider in the world, the scary-looking Goliath birdeater is a giant member of the tarantula family. Despite its name, it rarely feeds on birds, preferring to pounce on unsuspecting ground dwellers, including insects and small terrestrial vertebrates.

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Velvet worm -

This leggy, ground-dwelling worm preys upon other invertebrates, which they subdue by ejecting an adhesive, quick-setting slime, fired in rapid, cannon-like bursts.

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Army ant -

A raiding party of army ants simply overwhelm anything in their path. A whole colony of army ants can consume up to 500,000 prey animals each day and nothing is off the menu, including other insects, spiders, scorpions, worms, and small mammals.

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Asian giant hornet -

Similarly, a raiding party of Asian giant hornets can obliterate an entire colony of honey bees within minutes, with the world's largest hornet dispatching on average about 40 bees every minute. While a single wasp cannot inject a lethal dose of venom into a human (although the sensation is akin to being pierced by a hot nail), multiple stings are often fatal.

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Gympie-gympie -

Dendrocnide moroides, commonly known as the gympie-gympie, is a botanical beast. This is one of the world's most venomous plants notorious for its extremely painful sting, which may leave victims suffering for weeks or even months. While no threat to wildlife, humans should avoid touching its heart-shaped leaves at all costs.

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Venus flytrap -

The Venus flytrap catches its prey using an ingenious trapping structure, triggered when a unlucky insect brushes against the sensitive hairs on the inner surface of the plant's leaves.

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Frogfish -

These crafty, lie-in-wait predators are masters of camouflage. They are equipped with a specialized illuminated lure called an esca—its very own fishing rod and bait—which it uses to attract unsuspecting passersby. Pictured is a giant frogfish.

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Warty frogfish -

Like its bigger cousin, the warty frogfish is a voracious carnivore and uses camouflage, lure, and ambush techniques to attack all small animals that pass within its "strike range."

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Red-lipped batfish -

A fish species with a penchant for scarlet lipstick, the odd-looking batfish also uses an esca to draw in its unwitting victims.

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Cone snail -

The conical shells of cone snails are mesmerizing in their color and pattern. But what lies beneath is truly menacing. This is one of the most venomous creatures on the planet. They capture their prey by means of harpoon-like hollow teeth (radula) that are rapidly jabbed into their prey to inject a cocktail of toxins. The sting can be fatal to humans.

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Shrike -

The shrike's family name, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher," and for good reason. This handsome passerine has a grisly habit of catching insects and small vertebrates and impaling them on thorns, branches, and the spikes on barbed-wire fences, like some airborne Vlad the Impaler.

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Praying mantis -

Named for its prominent front legs, which are bent and held together at an angle that suggests the position of prayer, this insect is a master ambush predator.

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Mantis shrimp -

This rainbow-colored crustacean belies its flashy good looks with a kill technique that is among the most devastating in the animal kingdom. It uses its large, raptorial claws as clubs that accelerate faster than a bullet to stun prey with sledgehammer efficiency.

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Golden poison frog -

Don't be fooled by its cute, copper-coated appearance: the golden poison frog is considered one of the most toxic animals on Earth. A single frog may contain enough poison to kill more than 20,000 mice, or more than 10 people. It secretes poison through its skin, and there is no cure for this deadly amphibian's heart-stopping concoction.

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Grasshopper mouse -

This small, dainty rodent looks harmless enough. But this carnivorous mouse has a voracious appetite for an array of insects, arachnids, and even other mice. It hunts by stealth, sneaking up on prey before pouncing for the kill. The mouse is known to be immune to various venoms released by its prey, including scorpions and snakes.

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Arizona bark scorpion -

The Arizona bark scorpion is the most venomous scorpion in North America. An opportunistic predator, common prey includes insects as well as spiders and other arachnids, including scorpions. But there's one creature that serves as its nemesis—the aforementioned grasshopper mouse. The toxin has little effect on the whiskered mammal.

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Pitcher plant -

The tropical pitcher plant is beautiful but deadly. To survive, these plants evolved special mechanisms that allow them to entice, capture, and digest insects and other prey that give them the nitrogen and phosphorous they need to grow. Digestive enzymes turn their victims into a liquid lunch.

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Cobra lily -

So named for the resemblance of its tubular leaves to a rearing cobra, complete with a forked leaf, this carnivorous plant draws insects and small animals to its pitcher-like leaves by nectar glands embedded in the ramp-like "tongue."

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Monkey cup -

Another exotic pitcher plant with a taste for plump, juicy insects, the monkey cup also uses nectar secretions and coloration of the pitcher to draw in its victims. The plant's name, by the way, comes from monkeys occasionally drinking the fluid found in the pitchers.

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Blue-ringed octopus -

Small but deadly, the blue-ringed octopus can deliver venom 1,000 times more powerful than cyanide. It's one of the most dangerous animals in the ocean: small crustaceans, including crabs, shrimp, and other small sea creatures are dead within minutes of being wrapped in its tentacles—about the same time it takes to kill a human!

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Aye-aye -

An alarming-looking creature, the aye-aye is a species of lemur and the world's largest nocturnal primate. It has an ingenious method of finding food: it taps on tree bark to find grubs using an elongated finger. But this is no friendly relative politely knocking on the door. Once the aye-aye has located its diner, the animal rips away the bark with its teeth and gobbles up the bugs.

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Shrew -

The tiny shrew employs murderous cunning to satisfy its perpetual hunger. It needs to eat 80-90% of its body weight every day to survive and does so by chasing down prey—all types of bugs, snails, worms, and slugs—and using its sharp, spike-like teeth to devour its dinner in minutes.

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Stoat -

The sleek, lithe stoat is a natural born killer. It happily takes down prey much larger than itself, with rabbits being a favorite meal. Its method of dispatch is brutal, a bite to the spine at the back of the neck. While small prey die instantly, larger victims tend to succumb slowly to shock.

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Candiru -

A species of parasitic freshwater catfish, candiru have the dubious reputation as a fish with a propensity for invading the human urethra. It has an insatiable taste for blood and is commonly found in gill cavities of other fishes, imbibing at leisure.

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Sundews -

Sundews are plants that lure, capture, and digest insects using a sticky substance secreted on the hairs coating their leaves. The liquor-like dew entraps the critters who are then digested slowly by enzymes.

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Bullet ant -

Bullet ants feed on a wide range of food sources, anything from plant sap such as nectar to other insects and small vertebrates, including frogs. In order to secure their live meals, they deliver a well-aimed sting that instantly kills their victims. In fact, so powerful and painful is the attack that human casualties have described the pain as similar to getting shot. Hence the name given to this miniscule murderer.

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Hooded pitohui -

Exotic looking it may be, but the hooded pitohui is one of the only known birds to be toxic, its plumage and skin laced with a range of batrachotoxin compounds. Its toxicity is such that snakes have been observed regurgitating the hooded pitohui. The effects of the toxin on humans include tingling, numbing, watery eyes, sneezing, and a sensation of burning. 

Sources: (Natural History Museum) (National Geographic) (Australian Geographic) (World Land Trust) (Ocean Conservancy) (World Wildlife Fund)

See also: Flights of fancy: the most colorful and exotic birds on the planet

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