16 Animals With Big Noses

Elephant seals
Elephant seals

Our nose provides us with an extra sense by allowing us to smell, but it also functions as a vital channel for air to enter the lungs. Elephants, rhinos, and pigs are among the many animals to have long noses. While most animals utilize their noses solely for these two functions, there is a handful that have evolved far longer appendages. These long noses, as is generally the case with evolutionary modifications, serve a purpose. Let’s have a look at some more of these animals with big noses,

Animals with big noses

1. Proboscis monkey

The probosci’s monkey, sometimes known as the Nosy monkey, has the longest nose of any primate and is also one of the ugly animals in the world. Proboscis monkeys can be found in the jungles of Borneo, Indonesia. Their primary habitat consists of wetlands, rivers, and mangrove plants.

The large and bulbous noses of Proboscis are types of monkeys that can grow as long as 17 cm and are much more pronounced in males than in females. Males use their huge noses to attract mates by making loud honking noises to impress the females. These animals with big lips and enhanced cries impress females, they are scary to male competitors and serve as a warning to stay away. Its Scientific name is Nasalis larvatus.

Also Read: All You Need To Know About Aardvark vs Anteater

Proboscis monkey
Proboscis monkey

2. Aardvark

Aardvarks are African is one of the animals with long faces that use their exceptionally long noses to detect food. These creatures rely on their noses and hearing in addition to their limited vision to find food. An aardvark’s long nose is a result of both its poor vision and its constant search for food. Additionally, these animals with no necks only consume termites and ants as food. Where their eyesight fails, they are able to locate these organisms thanks to their sense of smell. Orycteropus afer is its scientific name.

Also read: All You Need To Know About Aardvark vs Anteater

Aardvark
Aardvark

3. Sawfish

The sawfish doesn’t just have a large nose, but it has a large snout that eerily resembles a chainsaw. Their pointed scales define their long, narrow, flat snout. Despite the fact that their nostrils cannot be accelerated, they are a useful hunting tool. Scientists have long watched sawfish sifting through sand to find crustaceans to eat by utilizing their remarkably big nostrils.

But more recent information has revealed that they also use their noses as weapons to kill prey. Additionally, using their nose for hunting is not limited to sifting through loose sand. The surface of this fish’s nose is covered in tiny sensors that enable it to recognize the electric fields that live things emit. Its Scientific name is Pristidae.

Also Read: 10 Ugly Monkeys In The World

Sawfish
Sawfish

4. Longnose Gar

Another fish species with a large nose is the longnose gar, which has a very low predator population. The ranges of longnose gars, which are found in North and Central America, include Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas. The main cause of their lack of predators is their long noses.

They have a long, sharp row of teeth on their nose. They can bite and ensnare their prey with ease thanks to the combination of their fangs and snout. They are not the kind of fish that are readily disturbed; they have been around for over 100 million years. Lepisosteus osseus is its Scientific name.

Longnose Gar
Longnose Gar

5. Tapirs

Tapirs have long nose that resembles the trunk of an Elephant, and there are more parallels outside just appearances. Due to the prehensile nature of this animal’s nostrils, it is able to navigate its environment in a highly complex manner. This tapir’s trunk, like the elephant’s, encloses both its top lip and its nose. Tapirs of various varieties can be found in the jungles, grasslands, and mountains of Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, and Paraguay, as well as in some areas of Malaysia.

Tapirs can navigate with their eyesight and their hearing, which is better. However, their trunks do assist in enhancing their sense of smell. They can activate the Flehmen response, which alerts them to everything from food sources to dangers to potential mates. Tapiridae is their scientific name.

Tapirs
Tapirs

Image Source: Wikipedia

6. Mandrills

The largest and one of the cutest monkeys in the world, mandrills have vividly colored humps and blue and red skin on their faces. These monkeys are found in the tropical rainforest of equatorial Africa. Mandrills are monkeys with red faces that draw in female partners thanks to the size and color of their noses. The male with the largest and most vibrant nose has a greater chance of success since these features appeal to women. The long noses of these monkeys aid them in feeding as well as mating because they are skilled foragers of seeds, nuts, and small animals. Mandrillus sphinx is its scientific name.

Mandrills
Mandrills

7. Elephant seals

Elephant seals are so called because their noses resemble elephant trunks. However, unlike elephants, these seals do not use their noses as much. Southern seals can be found in the chilly Antarctic and sub-antarctic waters, while northern seals can be found in California and Baja California. Instead, during mating, another male is noisily scared away using the elephant seal’s nose.

Elephant seals is one of the strongest sea animals only have large, bulging noses on the males. Additionally, because of the natural requirements of an elephant seal’s mating ritual, their huge nostrils aid them in storing water during the mating season when they are required to leave the coast. Their scientific name is Mirounga.

Elephant seals
Elephant seals

8. Bushpig

Bushpigs bushpig resemble domestic pigs in a number of ways, including having long, blunt, muscular noses. These pigs can be found in East and Southern African countries. Their natural habitats include woodlands, forests, and riverine vegetation. Similar to domestic pigs, bushpigs use their elongated snouts for many purposes.

When foraging, Bushpigs use their large noses, which have excellent senses of smell, to uproot grass and roots and dig the ground for small animals and insects. The creatures’ weak eyesight makes that useful. Their scientific name is Potamochoerus larvatus.

Bushpig
Bushpig

9. South American Coati

There are numerous varieties of coatis, but the South American coati has the largest nose. Strangely enough, despite their unusual appearance, these animals are actually bear relatives. They can be found in the lowland forests of the Andes. The nose of South American coatis aids in their survival as they consume a range of things, including vegetation and small mammals. They utilize their noses to discover food because they are mostly foragers. They can even dig out food (like insects) from beneath rotting wood using their noses. Its Scientific name is Nasua nasua.

South American Coati
South American Coati

10. Long-beaked Echidna

Long-beaked echidnas are exceedingly unusual mammals with spikes on their tongue in place of teeth and the ability to lay eggs. They also have exceptionally large noses. The snout is two-thirds the length of the head and has a modest downward slope. They can be found on the island of New Guinea.

An echidna with a long beak uses its long nose to sniff out food since they have keen senses of smell. This aids them in spotting any potential threats nearby as well as other long-beaked echidnas. Zaglossus is their scientific name.

Long-beaked Echidna
Long-beaked Echidna

Image Source: Wikimedia

11. Babirusas

Babirusa is wild pigs mostly seen in Wallacea and especially on the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi, Togian, Sula, and Buru. The body length ranges between 65 to 80 cm at the shoulder and can wieght upto 90 kilograms. It is also known as deer-pigs and Babirusa means “pig deer” in the language of Malay. Their tusks resemble deer antlers and even the prehistoric paintings of babirusa found in caves on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia dated back to at least 35,400 years ago. The avarage lifespan of Babirusas is upto 24 years in the wild.

Babirusas
Babirusas

12. Dugong

Dugong is one of the animals with big noses and one of four living species of the order Sirenia and also includes three species of manatees. These aquatic animals are mostly seen in the regions of East Africa to Australia, including the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific. They have a long lifespan and the avarage lifespan is up to 70 years or more. The body length ranges between 2.2 to 4 meters in length and the average weight is between 230 to 420 kilograms.

Dugong
Dugong

13. Elephant Shrew

Elephant Shrew is one of the cutest animals in the world because of its looks that can be found all over Africa. Talking about their appearance, they have an elongated and pointed head along with a long and trunk-like nose and hence the name. They can jump like rabbits upto 3 feet into the air and are also known as “jumping shrews”. It preys and feeds on insects such as ants, termite swarms, grubs, and spiders using its long tongue. It. Elephant shrews live in pairs and mate for life.

Elephant Shrew
Elephant Shrew

14. Gambian Pouched Rat

The Gambian pouched rat is a nocturnal pouched rat species that belongs to the genus Cricetomys and the family Nesomyidae. The body length of a Gambian pouched rat is upto 0.9 meters and the average weight is between 1 to 1.4 kilograms. The avarage lifespan of the Gambian Pouched Rat is between 2 to 7 years in the wild. This is among the largest muroids in the world including the tail. They are mostly seen in the regions of Senegal to Kenya and from Angola to Mozambique.

Gambian Pouched Rat
Gambian Pouched Rat

Image Source: Wikimedia

15. Giant Anteater

Giant Anteater is one of the animals with big noses mostly seen in Central and South America.  They are toothless creatures and uses their long and sticky tongue to catch prey. The bird tongue can be 2 feet long and catches ants and termites through the hole on the top of the anthill. The avarage lifespan of Anteaters is upto 15 years in the wild and 25 years in captivity. These animals with the toughest skin have a low body temperature of 32.7 degrees of Celsius which is low compared to other placental mammals.

anteater in forest
anteater in forest

16. Sperm Whale

The sperm whale is one such animal that can be distinguished by its extremely large head and nose which takes approximately 25 to 35% of its total body length. The whale species has the largest brain of any animal with an average weight of 7.8 kilograms (17 pounds) in mature male species. They used to communicate with the help of Morse-code-like patterns of clicks known as codas which is a different pattern they used to find prey.  Sperm whales are also one of the loudest animals in the world with a measured sound of upto 230 decibels (dB). It is also listed as one of the fish with big teeth in the world.

Sperm Whales
Sperm Whales

These are the list of the animals with big noses. Kindly share and do post your comments.

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