Our world is really amazing and full of colors! With all of the given colors in the spectrum, let’s be amazed at the creatures that were colored in Gold.
Golden animals are rare, beautiful, and unique! They have a color that is out of the ordinary and they never failed to stand out. Here are some of the interesting facts about these 20 golden animals on the list.
1) Panamanian Golden Frog
The Panamanian golden frog or Atelopus zeteki is an endemic species from Panama. It inhabits the streams of the cordilleran forests of Panama and is critically endangered. This vivid, yellow-colored frog is small but, beware as its vibrant color warns predators of its toxicity. It uses the aposematic coloration technique to ward off predators.
It looks so unique because its snout is long and protruding. It has long limbs while its body is slimmer in proportion. Its skin is smooth and uniformly colored with golden yellow with black or x-shaped blotches.
Its adult male measures around 4.8 centimeters in length and weighs 3-12 grams while the female is larger, measuring around 6.3 centimeters, and weighs 4-15 grams. Panamanian frogs live around 10-15 years.
2) Golden Poison Frog
The Golden poison frog or Phyllobates terribilis is the most toxic out of the golden animals’ list and the frog list. They live as an endemic species in the Colombian rainforests fringing the Pacific ocean and the indigenous people called “Choco’;” hunt by using its venom to tip their blowgun darts.
Their color is usually golden-yellow but they have some variations such as orange, or pale green and it also uses the aposematic coloration technique to ward off predators same as the Panamanian Golden Frog but they lack the dark spots unlike most poisonous frogs but the have adhesive disks on their toes to climb leaves, trees, and plants.
They live around 10-15 years. Its adult male measures around 5.5 centimeters in length and weighs 14 grams while the female is larger, measuring around 7 centimeters and weighs 17 grams.
3) Golden King Crab
Golden King crab or Ithodes aequispinus also known as brown king crab can be found near the waters of British Columbia but also in Russia and Japan. Golden king crabs’ shells were made of calcium that produced a golden color or sometimes tan-brown hue where they got their name from.
They have 10 legs including their claws and they inhabit waters with a depth of 300 to 1000 meters. They have different varieties but the Alaskan king crab is the largest of the species with an average weight of 5 to 8 lbs. Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithodes_aequispinus
4) Golden Ghost Crab
Golden Ghost Crab or Ocypode convexa or is a species that is endemic to Western Australia and from Broome to Perth. They can be found on the sandy beaches living on burrows preying on debris and small animals.
Golden Ghost Crab can grow up to 4.5 cm and 5.2 mm wide. Its measurement made it look like a box in appearance and they are recognizable by their golden bright-yellow coloration and unequal sized claws. They are sometimes named as yellow ghost crab, Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ghost_crab
5) Japanese Golden Crab
The Japanese Golden Crab or chaceon granulatus is the 3rd of the crabs in our golden animals’ list. They can be found on the western pacific coasts of Japan and Palau. They are also known as deep-sea crabs and they are usually tan or cream-colored.
They are found near Okinawa and usually are in small numbers. They inhabit the deep-sea floors in about 600 meters that’s why it’s locally as the ghost crab because few of them can be caught.
Its feeds on bottom-dwelling organisms like worms and mollusks. They can grow up to 30 centimeters male/female like the size of a dinner plate.
6) Golden Gecko
Golden Gecko or Gekko badenii is native to the country of Vietnam and was discovered around 1994. It has gold-colored scales and measures around 20 centimeters in length including its tail. For females around 15 centimeters, a bit smaller than the males and they don’t have knobs on their tails.
The Golden Geckos are insectivores and they prefer lowland forests or rocky areas where they feed on small insects, small fruits, and worms. Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_gecko
7) Chinese Golden Pheasant
The Chinese Golden Pheasant or chrysolophus pictus is one of the most vividly colored birds in our golden animals’ list. They belong to the family of pheasants and they are native to the forest of Western China.
The males have a golden-yellow crest with a red tip while their face and the sides of the neck have a rusty tan while the females have duller plumage, darker and mostly brown.
Both males and females have golden-yellow beaks and legs, they measure around 60 to 80 centimeters.
8) Golden Eyelash Viper
The Golden Eyelash Viper or Bothriechis schlegelii is a venomous pit viper that is native to South and Central America.
It has a triangular-shaped head and the scales around the eyes resemble eyelashes. They have a variety of colors to help it camouflage around the wild. The females are larger in size that can range from 55-82 cm and males around 40-70 cm.
9) Golden Apple Snail
The Golden Apple Snail or Pomacea canaliculata is an amphibious snail that has both a gill and a lung and can tolerate a wide variety of habitats. It has a golden flashy appearance but they are considered to be one of the 100 worst invasive species because of the economic agricultural losses they have caused.
10) Common Sun Skink
The Common Sun Skink or Eutropis multifasciata can be found in most Asian countries but it was first discovered in Taiwan around 1992. This is a uniquely smooth golden-brown lizard that is thick and slender at the same time. They don’t lay eggs as their eggs hatch from inside of their bodies. They eat insects, worms, spiders, and smaller lizards.
These smooth and thick lizards can be found basking in the sun, sitting on logs, and some households with any sunny spots. These golden animals are crazy fast as it is hard for them to catch and sometimes you’ll lose them in the blink of an eye.
11) American Goldfinch
The American Goldfinch or Spinus tristis can be found in North America. It is a migratory bird that flies over Alberta and North Carolina during mating season and towards Mexico during the cold winter. The male display has a brightly colored golden-yellow plumage during the mating season to attract a female.
It changes color depending on the season. The male has a vibrant golden-yellow color in the summer and changes into an olive color during the winter, while the female has a dull yellow-brown color which brightens during summer.
12) Bolivian Golden Bat
The Bolivian Golden Bat or Myotis midastactus is one of the newly discovered species of bat. It is named after King Midas and his golden touch and can be found as an endemic species in Paraguay and Bolivia. It has small eyes, short and woolly golden fur and it eats insects in tree holes.
The golden fur allows them to blend in savanna surroundings with dried leaves, grass, and dead shrubs. It gives these golden animals an advantage among other bat species that have usually black or darker fur and resides in the forests.
13) Golden Lion Tamarin
The Golden Lion Tamarin or Leontopithecus rosalia is native to the forest of Brazil. This golden animal gets has bright reddish golden-orange hairs around the face and ears which gives it a mane but its face is hairless and a little bit dark. They eat fruits, nectar, flowers, eggs, and insects.
The male and female tamarins have almost similar sizes and appearances. Today, an estimated 2,500 tamarins live in the wild because of deforestation and habitat loss. The Golden Lion Tamarin are also known as Golden marmoset.
14) Golden Tiger
Golden Tiger or sometimes known as Strawberry tiger is the rarest on the golden animals’ list. It is caused by a recessive gene like white and black tigers and cannot be separated as a sub-species.
The color of the golden tiger is blonde or red-golden and the coat is paler than that of a normal orange tiger. Its fur tends to be thicker than the normal tigers and there a number of about 30 golden tigers worldwide Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_tiger
15) Gold Tegu Lizard
The Gold Tegu Lizard or Tupinambis teguixin lives in the tropical forests of Panama and South America. They have a glossy golden body, big, powerful limbs, and a thick tail.
These lizards grow up to 3 feet long with a weight of 4 kilos. They feed on insects, small mammals, reptiles, and birds. They are also hard to catch but they have a low life expectancy.
16) Yellow Tang
The Yellow Tang or Zebrasoma flavescens is a popular saltwater aquarium fish. Its bright golden-yellow color makes it easy to see on its habitat by the reefs.
Its male grows larger than females and can grow up to 8 inches in length and can be 1 inch thick! They are also herbivores and they eat mostly filamentous algae.
17) Goldenrod Crab Spiders
The Goldenrod Crab Spiders or Misumena vatia is a unique colored spider that sometimes takes its color from its prey! They are color-changing spider that usually takes on preys that are larger than them.
They are called crab spiders because they can walk sideways. They are also unique because of the skull marks on their abdomen. The female can grow up to .39 inches while the males are quite smaller around .20 inches.
18) Yellow Common Seahorse
The Yellow Common Seahorse or Hippocampus kuda can be found in the Eastern coasts and the Pacific. It clings in seaweeds and it has no scales. They only have a layer of golden skin that covers their bodies.
Their unusual trait is that males become pregnant and not the female. Seahorses are ambush predators, they swallow their food whole because they don’t have teeth and they feed their prey by sucking them into their tube-like mouths.
19) Asian Golden Weaver
The Asian Golden Weaver or Ploceus hypoxanthus are endemic species of birds that can be found in most Asian countries like Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand.
They have a black facemask, golden-yellow crown, a thick black beak. Their size is around 20-22 centimeters both male and female. The Asian Golden weaver usually feeds on seeds and insects during the breeding season.
20) Akhal-Teke
Last on the list of golden animals is the Akhal-Teke or the Golden Horse. This horse’s coat literally shines in gold with a distinctive metallic sheen. Akhal is the name of the mountains in Turkmenistan that has been inhabited by the Tekke tribe and that’s where it got its name from.
They are known for their golden or cream buckskin but a number of other colors are also being recognized such as black, grey, and chestnut. They have a refined head with long ears and they also have hooded eyes that are almond-shaped.
Akhal-Teke are known as being sports horses due to their athletic ability. They are good at being “show horses” and jumping horses but they are mostly known for their amazing speeds that they were used in racing and endurance riding. They stand around 58 to 64 inches and are lightly muscled.
Bonus: The Golden Tortoise Beetle!
The Golden tortoise beetle or Charidotella sexpunctata is native to the Americas. It has a unique metallic gold color that they were usually called “gold bugs”. The adult measures around 5-7 mm in length these beetles play dead when they are disturbed.
These beetles are considered to be a bit destructive as both larvae and adults feed on foliage. They create small to medium-sized irregular holes on plants and in the long run, they eat entirely through the foliage.
Final Words
There we have it! I hope we can identify more fantastic golden animals, and for sure there are plenty of others. To encounter more of these amazing golden animals and be amazed by their unique colors and fantastic natural abilities will be uplifting. I hope that they will increase in numbers too, most especially the endangered species.
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