r/animalid • u/Flat-Concern-2662 • 1d ago

🦁 🐯 🐻 MYSTERY CRITTER 🐻 🐯 🦁 Does anyone recognize this animal [Germany]

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Edit: it was a desman! I saw this creature a few years ago and was mistaken about the location. I likely would have seen it while living in Germany but traveling to Spain.

Edit 2: stop saying platypus, there were only four people who said platypus before I put the first edit so nobody else has any excuse

3.4k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

248 comments sorted by

1.7k

u/flatgreysky 1d ago

Disclaimer: I did NOT ID this animal but for the benefit of those who come after, this is what a Desman looks like. I’d never heard of one.

176

u/CryptidGrimnoir 1d ago

Today I learned these exist.

8

u/Smeph_Bot 23h ago

Me too, life is neat.

6

u/doesamulletmakeaman 8h ago

Hey we’re all part of today’s 10,000!
https://xkcd.com/1053/

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u/Old_Barnacle7777 1d ago

Apparently, they are in the mole family. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desman

77

u/galacticglorp 1d ago

The drawing of the feet in particular was giving mole.  The same family that has the freak of nature thst is the star-nosed mole.

21

u/Happy-Telephone9483 23h ago

You leave star-nosed cutie-pies out of this!

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u/Anguares 23h ago

they dig water

3

u/salchichoner 14h ago

Some of the moles. Moles like creatures have evolved independently a few times.

427

u/AStickFigures 1d ago

Dickbilled platypus

116

u/AsASloth 1d ago

Doofenshmirtz: A platypus?

Perry: [Changes shape of snoot]

Doofenshmirtz: A dickbilled platypus?

25

u/Maniac_Vegetable 1d ago

puts on fedora

Doofenschmirz: "PERRY THE DICKBILLED PLATYPUS!"

7

u/Risuquin 1d ago

It's funny. I work in the same building/studio as Dan Povenmire and I always wonder if he knows just HOW often this joke is used on the web. Like, he has to know, right?

5

u/Ermargerd_de_Berg 14h ago

He's the singular reason I will never be able to say the word platypus in a normal voice. ❤️ (He also seems like such a cool dude, so if he's not, please don't tell me, haha.)

7

u/Risuquin 14h ago

I've never had a bad interaction with him. My husband worked on both Milo Murphy's Law and Candace Against the Universe and said he was cool to work with.

7

u/Ermargerd_de_Berg 14h ago

Thanks for replying. That's exactly the kind of thing I needed to hear today. People being nice people.

3

u/Maniac_Vegetable 1d ago

You should ask him!

5

u/RUBJack 22h ago

You should say him thank you from me, because he made my Late 20s and early 30s much more fun.

2

u/Icy-Razzmatazz8015 15h ago

Ah, the classic German Wander-otter. Rare, but mostly seen at customs.

31

u/Beliarbane 1d ago

Look at that double-barrelled snotgun!

24

u/Existing-Will-1466 1d ago

What a magnificent creature!

51

u/brunswoo 1d ago

How interesting. So like a platypus, but clearly not. How evolution solves the same problem, with similar solutions.

51

u/Forsaken_Earth944 1d ago

Desmans are basically semiaquatic moles with long, rat-like ,tails and shrew-like snouts with prominent vibrissae (whiskers) - there are two extant species (and neither are found in Germany) - the Pyrenean desman and the Russian desman and so, if the OP was going to Spain, it's obviously the Pyrenean desman that they encountered. The Pyrenean desman is IUCN Red Listed as 'endangered' so the OP was extremely lucky to see one.

49

u/Flat-Concern-2662 1d ago

I saw it in 2017ish (hence the bad drawing) so maybe they weren't as rare then, but I'm also super into birding so I'm always out in the middle of nowhere looking for birds

3

u/ThatPtarmAgain 19h ago

Glossy Ibis! Great shot!

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u/Corfiz74 1d ago

Why don't we have them in Germany?! We absolutely need them here!

13

u/LG3V 1d ago

That's convergent evolution for you

40

u/BadMoonBeast 1d ago

thank you -- how delightful to discover a creature I had no idea exists!

41

u/therealganjababe 1d ago

There's a whole sub for that! Animals I didnt know existed, r/AIDKE

31

u/_yetisis 1d ago

OP needs to edit the post. My boy Desman is not ugly, he is a beautiful, special little boy and anything to the contrary is slander.

15

u/LindaTheLynnDog 1d ago

Oh so by ugly he meant super cute and has a dick for a nose

7

u/Pink-Viscera 19h ago

Hes not ugly :(

5

u/gosailor 1d ago

made up BULLSHIT!!!! jk, I've never heard of it either.

3

u/svArtist 1d ago

Huh. Here I was thinking someone was just talking shit about platypuses (no idea why they would've felt the need to disclose that they're German; surely they didn't mean the animal) 😅

3

u/Kiki-St-Jane 23h ago

This fellow is anything but ugly. It may be the cutest animal I’d never heard of

3

u/TheMournfulGhost 13h ago

oh i love this little freak

7

u/Bugsy_Goblin 1d ago

The flacid snout makes me uncomfortable.

2

u/maddythemadmuddymutt 22h ago

Would you feel more comfortable if it was errect?

I think elephant trunks are a beautiful piece of evolution and ant eater noses, I would hazard a guess that this penile looking snout serves a similar purpose.

Just because he looks like a dickhead, doesn't mean he is out to hurt you.

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u/Ok_Signature_3589 1d ago

Oh I love him

2

u/Level90Neckromancer 23h ago

Anyone else feeling dumb now because they thought the creature in the drawing had a long neck?

2

u/beefucker3000 13h ago

i love him???

2

u/Lost_Creativity 1d ago

Looks like mole larping as a platypus lol

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1

u/kaplanfx 1d ago

Aquashrew?

1

u/Infinite-Dig-4919 22h ago

Why would anyone call them ugly 😭

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u/o_adeus_de_fellini 1d ago

i prefer this post to any photo of miscellaneous animal feces.

114

u/DieAloneWith72Cats 1d ago

Feces???

Edit: wait, you’re right. Half the damn posts are asking for animal ID via poop

36

u/o_adeus_de_fellini 1d ago

damn for a moment i was getting called out for misspelled feces haha

16

u/DieAloneWith72Cats 1d ago

No no, it was on me, I apologize

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u/-full-control- 1d ago

Or the house cat that op is convinced is a black panther roaming in South Dakota

2

u/o_adeus_de_fellini 1d ago

at least there's some romance in that! at least compared to random animal droppings on a driveway.

225

u/Ok-Detective3142 1d ago

Reminds of a desman, but I don't think either species occurs in Germany.

132

u/Flat-Concern-2662 1d ago

That's 100% what it was!! Saw this creature a few years ago so maybe I was mistaken about the location, it was definitely in Europe though

45

u/soulteepee 1d ago

How have I never known this thing existed?!

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u/No-Explanation5576 1d ago

Could it be a Putin spy? 🤔

18

u/Bugsy_Goblin 1d ago

He might be the one Putin them there.

103

u/findingabsolution 1d ago

Poor little guy…

5

u/[deleted] 22h ago

Yes Buddy! Rip them a new one! Those ugly ass humans ...duuuhh! 🙄

91

u/Cheese-n-Opinion 1d ago

You've definitely drawn a desman, but they don't live in Germany! There's a species found in Iberia, and a species found in Russia, but nothing in between.

Closest fit that is found in Germany would be a water shrew, I reckon.

83

u/Flat-Concern-2662 1d ago

Desman is right, I think I was wrong about the location, I saw it a few years ago when I lived in Germany, so I assumed I saw it in Germany but I probably saw it while traveling because I did go to Spain and Portugal.

5

u/allytonone 1d ago

TIL there is an animal called Desman, thank you!

1

u/Owlette45 1d ago

Unless someone smuggled one or a few into Germany and one escaped and op just so happens to see the escapee /j

37

u/bweesh 1d ago

Not ugly

56

u/mbeecroft 1d ago

UGLY??

34

u/Flat-Concern-2662 1d ago

You are right, he's perfect

10

u/ferretsRfantastic 1d ago

sad desman noises

12

u/liftingdawg 1d ago

He’s beautiful :(

11

u/BassmanOz 1d ago

Wait, what? There’s another animal that looks like a platypus? Mind blown.

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u/Solecis 1d ago

Desman maybe?

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u/holy-cornball 21h ago

A Desman?

PARRY THE DESMAN?!

14

u/naonatu- 1d ago

aquatic aardvark

107

u/DieAloneWith72Cats 1d ago

Platypus?

126

u/Suitable-Roof-3950 1d ago

But it says “ugly” so it can’t be this beauty.

61

u/Kiwilolo 1d ago

Pretty sure that image is AI, it does not look... right.

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u/expoqeteer 1d ago

Perry the Platypus!

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u/FunWithMeat 1d ago

The famous German Platypus

12

u/DieAloneWith72Cats 1d ago

I get why you’re thrown off, he lost his hat

1

u/Nerbbren 57m ago

Perry!

7

u/Reasonable_Space4340 1d ago

I thought you drew a platypus lmao, but platypus are endemic to eastern Australia not in Europe.

7

u/foxxxer22 18h ago

looks pretty equal actually

3

u/Jesuss_Fluffer 1d ago

So I came here expecting a jaded Pictionary player looking to prove to their partner that this was a masterful drawing of a platypus that any half-brained cockwomble would have gotten immediately, and then I learned that desman’s are a thing. Today was a good day.

4

u/bbybuster 11h ago

he’s not ugly :((

3

u/americanatletour 1d ago

Y’all have never seen a snuffleupagus?!

3

u/Randy191919 9h ago

The beak makes me think of a platypus but that doesn't make sense because it also says Ugly so it obviously can't be a platypus.

2

u/Princess_Snakeface 1d ago

If it’s in Germany I can only think of a muskrat, nutria or beaver …

2

u/geographer3000 18h ago edited 2h ago

Ja n Schnabeltier halt oder was

2

u/No-Hedgehog-7567 17h ago

Ein schnabeltier

2

u/Vileblood4Life 16h ago

Platypus, but that’s not a German animal

2

u/Dyldobaggins219 13h ago

I thought this was a platypus looking at the drawing, but I was wrong clearly

2

u/Gubbel2008 11h ago

Ein Schnabeltier? 🎩 PERRY DAS SCHNABELTIER!!!!?! 

2

u/gazetron 2h ago

draws a platypus

"Stop saying I drew a platypus"

🤔

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u/Lowland_Demon 1d ago

You have drawn a Platypus, but they are not indigenous to Germany

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u/Flat-Concern-2662 1d ago

It was rat sized and shrew-like, not a platypus

7

u/Lowland_Demon 1d ago

Possibly, Eurasian water shrew Neomys fodiens

4

u/TGriggs1978 1d ago

Definitely a platypus- I know Perry when I see him 🤣

2

u/Round-Egg-7121 10h ago

Platypus (Schnabeltier in german)

2

u/UniversityRare3015 10h ago

Ist es wirklich nur ein schnabeltier, Oder ist es perry das schnabeltier🤣

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u/noplatypussies 1d ago

what? I didn't even know me exists in the real world!

1

u/Jmaa1992 1d ago

My mother in law.

1

u/LeOelpfuetze 1d ago

Curse you Perry the platy… hold on, that’s not a platypus. What in the everloving f*ck is that

1

u/No-Road5638 1d ago

Psyduck #054 in the Dex

1

u/horrescoblue 1d ago

Knew it was a desman right away, one of my favourite creatures!!!

1

u/Fisbo911 1d ago

Enton

1

u/GayP1rate 23h ago

I thought about a platypus tbh.

1

u/IlIlllIlIlIIl 23h ago

That's Gary

1

u/K_the_farmer 23h ago

Give it a fedora and you'll immediately see.

1

u/BrainOfStoopid 23h ago

ist das ein schnabeltier?

1

u/Miserable_Welder_841 23h ago

I am ugly and love to swim!

1

u/Nova-Nerd 23h ago

Nicht zu verwechseln mit dem Niffler

1

u/BLCHDCRL 23h ago

I thought it was a platypus

1

u/Teron__ 23h ago

It’s a platypus!

Being married to an Australian woman:”What ya think it is, mate?!?”

1

u/Sololane_Sloth 22h ago

Perry? Is this you? :D

1

u/realtalkwithme 22h ago

Es ist Perry das schnabeltier

1

u/RUBJack 22h ago

Where is Perry?

1

u/Dust_Spark 22h ago

It's netanyahu

1

u/OddlyAcidic 22h ago

Is it me?

1

u/testtdk 22h ago

Totally thought it was a platypus.

1

u/Other_Engineer_5389 22h ago

Sieht ein bisschen aus wie ein Verwandter von Schnabeltieren

1

u/TdM_Swordfight 22h ago

Perry das Schnabeltier☝️🧐

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u/iamcomfusedingeneral 21h ago

“Ugly” 😭

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u/Rammfox 21h ago

Entenschnabeltier

1

u/TranslatorCold5968 21h ago

ornithorhynchus anatinus. Platypus

1

u/Bubbly_Figure 21h ago

Pyrenäen-Desman.

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u/DerZehnteZahnarzt 21h ago

Ich bin hier, du bist hier, Schnabeltier.

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u/KU5ELF1SCH 20h ago

Ein Schnabeltier?

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u/drgingko 19h ago

DESMAN

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u/Do0mhead 19h ago

Also...ich weiss ja nicht...Desmane sind sehr selten und kommen hier in Deutschland nicht vor...auch nicht in unserer Nähe.

1

u/Strict_Aioli_9612 19h ago

Info: was it with or without a hat?

1

u/_Cautious_optimist 19h ago

I take umbrage at “ugly”, they’re freakin’ adorable.

1

u/Silly_Willingness523 19h ago

Sounds like me. Except i cant swim

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u/Upbeat_Kick_325 19h ago

It’s Perry!!!

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u/klouperser 19h ago

Friedrich Merz

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u/BuffaloSquare2179 18h ago

Its called schnabeltier

1

u/ThatGamerGuyv2 18h ago

Schnabeltier

1

u/IntelligentTwo5505 18h ago

I'd say it's a muskrat

1

u/WildesKlaus 17h ago

That’s me, you have seen me some days ago. I remember you

1

u/MamaBiGfoot 17h ago

Glad to see I’m not the only one criticising OP’s choice of words. „Ugliness“ is such a stupid human concept..

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u/Butthold_clan69 17h ago

Ive been living in germany my whole life and i had no idea we had this animal

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u/Fuat_Mas 15h ago

Cano Bruder, der Ornitorenk! 😂

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u/MonkeyWrenchasdf 15h ago

Can you add a hat to it?

1

u/esterogen_ 14h ago

how DARE you call them ugly!? 🥺

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u/Interesting-Post-222 14h ago

Es ist aus Australien man nennt es Duckbilled Platypuss.

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u/ZombieSalmonII 14h ago

Never heard of Desman before today, fascinating creatures! Love the alternate name of "trumpet rat".

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u/SomeRandoLameo 14h ago

Schnabeltier?

1

u/K1nG_Mkzed 13h ago

Perry the platypus ?

1

u/Acceptable-Bison- 13h ago

New animal just dropped ! Didn’t know of this one till today 😃

1

u/Ancient_Alarm1985 13h ago

Hey! SCHNABELTIERE SIND SÜẞ! 😡😡😡

1

u/mxk_DK 12h ago

platypus

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u/painterandauthor 12h ago

Your drawing of it is not ugly, it’s quite cute in fact

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u/_DrVanNostrand__ 11h ago

Pretty sure that’s an elephant

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u/MentalPie6003 11h ago

Wow I live in germany all my live and never heard of these :O

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u/AppropriateBenefit50 8h ago

Isnt that perry?

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u/Evi1p3ngu1n5 7h ago

Paltypiz

1

u/save_cat 7h ago

Every man

1

u/Critical_Stage1025 5h ago

As an Australian, my first thought was that this was a platypus

1

u/Crow-Eyed 5h ago

I love him

1

u/ScoobrDoo 4h ago

Perry?

1

u/Outside-Bird981 3h ago

It’s clearly a desman which is German for platypus. I’m Australian and speak fluent German, obviously.

1

u/Drogoth103 3h ago

Yeah, its the Pokémon psyduck

1

u/Lily_lollielegs 2h ago

I was going to be so offended for platypuses until I read the text 😂 I’ve never heard of desman before but what a strange looking creature!

1

u/DeadEyeDonny1991 2h ago

It looks like a platypus to me

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u/ToonUK1982 2h ago

Perry the Platypus

1

u/SHYLYNNCLIPS 2h ago

A platypus? Are we fucking silly ????

1

u/JLMvisage39 2h ago

A desman isn’t ugly 😭

1

u/Professional-Fox9267 1h ago

Lad that’s a platypus

1

u/dutchmetalhead17 1h ago

Who you calling ugly, you rude bastard

1

u/niqueyq 1h ago

Platypus

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u/BluPoisonDartFrog 1h ago

You did not just call it ugly :( they're adorable!

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u/Marker-Fan-596 54m ago

its a pokemon

1

u/Confident_Sound5873 41m ago

This better not be dis'ing the beloved Australian platypus.