We might lead from the front, but our back ends are anything but boring. Across the animal kingdom, butts have bizarre and sometimes life-saving roles.
From launching toxic sprays and poisonous guts to breathing underwater or growing entirely new body parts, these animal butts are some of the weirdest – and most surprising – adaptations.
Weirdest bottoms in the animal kingdom
Find out which off these butts earned their owners a spot on our weirdest sea creatures list – or, better yet, our weirdest animals list.
Giant California sea cucumber: breathes and eats out of its butt
The giant California sea cucumber can breathe and eat through its butt. It’s what’s known as an anal ventilator – it pumps seawater in and out of its butt to introduce oxygen into the structures in its large intestine, which absorb it directly from the water.
Holothuroid sea cucumber: ejects its poisonous stomach out of its butt
Fascinatingly, this spineless, squishy invertebrate can fire its own intestines and stomach out of its anus to deter predators. Its innards are laced with poison, helping to keep threats at bay. If the attack continues, the holothuroid sea cucumber can even explode itself, releasing toxins.
Ananteris balzanii scorpion: loses its butt to escape predators
Like many lizards, this rare South American species of scorpion can drop its own tail to escape predators. But while lizards retain their anuses during this process, this scorpion loses its butt along with its tail.
Wombat: can crush skulls with its butt
A wombat’s rump is hard as rock, helping it burrow and defend itself. It can even crush the skulls of its enemies if needed. Its anuses are also unusual—the Australian marsupial famously produces cube-shaped poop.
Froghopper: can blow spit out of its butt
Froghoppers can create a foamy white substance known as “cuckoo spit”—but surprisingly, it’s produced from their rear ends. This foam offers protection and helps them stay hydrated. Froghoppers are sap-sucking true bugs, a group of insects that feed on plant sap.
Bombardier beetle: sprays a boiling-hot, toxic spray out of its butt
When under threat, the bombardier beetle ejects a boiling-hot, toxic spray from its butt at attackers. This chemical defence is produced by a reaction between two compounds stored in pygidial glands in the beetle’s abdomen. Heat from the reaction brings the spray close to the boiling point of water.
Ramisyllis multicaudata worm: multiple butts grow their own brain and eyes
This fascinating marine worm has multiple butts, with a single head leading into dozens of branching bodies, each ending in its very own rear end. Even stranger—each of these butts can begin building heads that contain a rudimentary brain and four eyes.
Pig: breathes through its butt
Scientists have shown that pigs sitting in artificial fluids are capable of “enteral ventilation via anus” – breathing through their butts. More studies are needed, but it’s definitely an intriguing concept.
