Last updated at 00:04 24 January 2008

This week the Zoological Society of London published a list of the world's weirdest animals, including a purple frog that lives 12ft underground.

But as a new website shows, there are plenty of other bizarre facts about the animal world ...

RABBITS love liquorice - but it is very bad for them because they cannot digest sugars.

DALMATIONS are the only breed of dog that gets gout (because they are the only mammals, other than humans, which produce uric acid).

SLUGS have four noses - well actually a pair of gills for breathing and a pair of rhinopores (chemosensory organs) used for smelling.

HONEYBEES have hairs on their eyes to help them collect pollen.

The left leg of a CHICKEN is more tender than the right one, which it uses most, therefore increasing muscle development.

The sperm of a MOUSE is longer than the sperm of an elephant.

Mice are highly promiscuous and need particularly large testes to keep up with demand.

More human deaths have been attributed to FLEAS than all the wars ever fought.

As carriers of the bubonic plague, fleas were responsible for killing onethird of the population of Europe in the 14th century.

A CAT uses its whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through.

The whiskers act as feelers or antennae, helping the animal to judge the precise width of any passage.

GOLDFISH lose their colour if kept in dim light. Much like humans getting a tan, they need sunlight to keep their pigment.

ALBATROSSES have a wing span of up to 14ft and need to land only once every couple of years to breed.

They can travel hundreds of thousands of miles each flight.

Certain Chinese and American ALLIGATORS can survive the winter by freezing their heads in ice, leaving their nose out to breath for months on end.

DOLPHINS sleep with one half of the brain at a time, and one eye closed.

When two DOGS approach each other, the dog which wags its tail very slowly - showing anger - is in charge.

Some LIONS can mate more than 50 times a day.

If you lift a KANGAROO'S tail off the ground it can't hop - they use their tails for balance.

For every person there are roughly 200 million INSECTS.

A CROCODILE cannot stick its tongue out, because it is attached to the bottom of its mouth.

This is why they appear to gulp their food down.

ELEPHANTS are the only mammals that can't jump.

CAMELS have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.

Many HAMSTERS blink only one eye at a time.

A FLAMINGO can eat only when its head is upside down.

Its tongue pumps water through the sieve-like ridges that line its beak in order to trap microscopic algae.

A DOLPHIN'S hearing is so acute that it can pick up an underwater sound from 15 miles away.

BUTTERFLIES taste with their hind feet.

A SNAIL can sleep for three years if conditions are adverse (such as during a drought).

BEES have five eyes - three small ones on top of their head and two larger ones in front.

POLAR BEARS are the only mammal with hair on the soles of their feet.

It helps them to get a good grip on icy surfaces, and also acts as a heat insulator.

Most ELEPHANTS weigh less than the tongue of a blue whale.

The only two animals that can see behind themselves without turning their head are the RABBIT and the PARROT.

PENGUINS can jump as high as 6ft in the air.

The last animal in the dictionary is the ZYZZYVA, a tropical weevil.

ELEPHANTS have been found swimming miles from shore in the Indian Ocean.

The leg bones of a BAT are so thin that they cannot walk.

GREAT WHITE SHARKS can go as long as three months without eating.

GOAT'S eyes have rectangular pupils, which enable them to watch over their broad, flat grazing area for predators.

KIWI BIRDS are blind and hunt by smell.

GIRAFFES have no vocal cords and communicate by vibrating the air around their necks.

A female OYSTER may produce 100 million young over her lifetime.

MOSQUITOES are attracted to the colour blue twice as much as to any other colour.

No two ZEBRAS have the same markings.

The longest recorded flight of a CHICKEN is 13 seconds.

A BEE must visit 4,000 flowers to make one tablespoon of honey.

By swallowing water, the PUFFER FISH becomes too big for other fish to swallow.

A full-grown BEAR can run as fast as a horse.

Female FLEAS drink 15 times their weight in blood every day.

When a GIRAFFE'S baby is born, it falls from a height of 6ft, usually without being hurt.

A DRAGONFLY can spot an insect moving 33ft away.

CAMEL milk does not curdle, because it has adapted to the desert heat.

POLAR BEARS can swim 60 miles without pausing for a rest.