The Pacific spiny lumpsuckers are tiny, one-inch bony fish. Their bumpy body is full of spiny tubercles, which provide camouflage. The fish have modified pelvic fins that function as adhesive discs, allowing them to remain attached to rocks, eelgrass, and kelp.

The name of this fish describes its appearance funnily. The “spiny” and “sucker” parts of the name are explained in the paragraph above. The lumpy part refers to how the fish resembles a puffy lump.

The Strange-tailed Tyrant is a flycatcher with an unusual tail. In addition to its regular proportional tail, it has a couple of long outer tail feathers. That's where the strange tail in its name comes from. 

However, the reason this bird is called a tyrant has less to do with its behavior and more to do with its classification. The bird is a member of the genus Alectrurus, which belongs to the family Tyrannidae. The family name reflects the aggressive nature of some members, especially the Western Kingbird.

The next funniest animal name is derived from the creature's slippery body. The fish coats its body in a mucus-like substance so that predators have a hard time grabbing onto it.

The slippery dick has three phases of growth and its appearance changes with each phase. Juveniles are white with a black lateral stripe. In its mid-phase, it becomes white-grey with two red stripes. At the terminal stage, the slippery dick turns green with dark stripes.

Moustached puffbirds are plump, round birds that live in the Andes in Venezuela and Colombia. An adult can be 9 inches long and weigh up to 50 grams. 

As with most animals with funny names, the moustached puffbird looks funny. It has small tufts of white feathers around its bill's base, making it look like the bird has a white mustache. The females have darker plumage than males, with a less prominent mustache.

The hellbender is the largest amphibian in North America. It can grow to about 29 inches and weigh up to 5 pounds. It spends its entire life in the swift-running rivers across the eastern United States.

Hellbenders may have gotten their name because of their monstrous size and wrinkly, slippery, splotchy skin. Those features, while unpleasant, serve essential purposes. Hellbenders absorb 95% of their oxygen intake through the folds and wrinkles of their skin. The mucus on the skin protects it from abrasion, parasites, and predators.

Also called a frill neck or frilled lizard, this animal is named for the large frill that encircles its head. When threatened, it stands on its hind legs, unfurls the frill, and opens its yellow mouth. If the intimidation tactic fails, the lizard simply runs away on its hind legs at top speeds.

Frilled lizards are members of the dragon family. They can grow to almost 3 feet, with their tail accounting for two-thirds of the length. They are brown or grey, but their frills usually have an orange or tan tinge.

The wunderpus octopus got its name just for being cute. Wunderpus is a mix of the German word “Wunder,” which means marvel or wonder, and the English word "octopus.” The "Photogenicus” in its scientific name likely refers to its photogenic nature.

This type of octopus has rusty brown skin with white blotches and stripes, which form beautiful patterns. It can impressively modulate its shape and color to mimic a lethal lionfish or sea snake to deter a predator. Wunderpuses live in the shallow waters of the Indo-Malayan Archipelago.

Leafy seadragons are closely related to seahorses. They are endemic to the waters off south and east Australia.

The leafy seadragon is an excellent example of an animal camouflaging as a plant to escape predation. The fish has leaf-shaped protrusions all over its body, helping it blend in with the kelp and seaweed around it. 

Their bodies are usually yellow or brown, while the leafy protrusions have an olive tint. To further sell the disguise, the fins of the leafy seadragon are so thin and almost transparent.

At 3.5 cm, the adult common cockchafer is the United Kingdom’s largest scarab beetle. The rusty brown beetle is also called the May bug because it tends to emerge from its underground home around May.

There are a few stories about how the common cockchafer got its name. One explanation says the word “cock” means familiar, and “chafer” means gnawing beetle. Another explanation says cockchafer is Old English for "big beetle." 

Yet another account suggests that the word cock in Old English referred to large size, while chafer meant gnawing insect. Therefore, the cockchafer got its name from its size and tendency to chew leaves and flowers vigorously.

The fish's face matches its funny name. Its human-like lips look like they're slathered in bright red lipstick. The rest of its body is greyish brown with a white underbelly. It has a pretty odd shape for a fish and a prominent snout at the top of its head.

Another odd thing about the red-lipped batfish is that it prefers to use its fins as pseudo-legs to walk along the seabed rather than swim. This bottom-dweller is endemic to the Galapagos Islands.