"Animal Earth" Is a Stunning Photo Guide to World's Most Exotic Creatures

Zoologist Ross Piper's new book features 540 incredible photos of elusive species.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Zoologist Ross Piper is obsessed with animals, and if you read his book Animal Earth: The Amazing Diversity of Living Creatures, you might be too. Planet Earth is home to more than 1.5 million different species, many of which remain unknown to most human beings. Animal Earth captures a select few of these forgotten creatures in 540 stunning full-color photographs.

The book exposes us to some of nature’s magical creations. One such creature is a beguiling purple-horned sea slug that looks like a sunny side up egg with chicken pox. Another lesser known species is the “Priapulids,” or, in laymen’s terms, the “penis worm.” These wily bugs lie in wait hidden below the sediment and use their spiny tentacles to capture unassuming small animals as they walk by.

“We’ve only just scratched the surface of understanding the natural world and I hope this book inspires other people to take a better look at our plant and its amazing inhabitants,” Piper told Co.Design.

RELATED: 50 Awesome Animal Photos

[via Co.Design]

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