The animal kingdom teems with creatures bearing names that may bewilder rather than enlighten. These names will have you imagining the strangest animal mashups, so prepare to have your preconceptions challenged and your curiosity piqued with these wild misnomers.

BEARCAT

(not a bear or a cat)

Despite its bear-like appearance and cat- like behaviors, the bearcat, or binturong, isn’t related to either. It belongs to the viverrid family native to South and Southeast Asia, closer kin to small mammals like mongooses and meerkats.

MANTIS SHRIMP

(not a mantis or a shrimp)

The peculiar mantis shrimp defies its name from beginning to end. Neither a mantis nor a shrimp, it falls under the distinctive order of crustaceans called Stomatopoda.

KING COBRA

(not a cobra)

The crowned king, boasting 18 feet of venomous nerotoxin, isn’t a true cobra. Despite sporting the iconic flared hood of cobras, the king cobra earns its name from a diet predominantly composed of other snakes, including Cobras.

Dogfish

(not a dog or a fish)

The dogfish, not to be confused with a canine companion or a peculiar- looking fish, is a small shark that dwells in the ocean depths. Dogfish earned their bark-worthy title by hunting in packs like hungry, finned hounds.

Flying Fox

(not a fox)

Flying lemurs might look like they are soaring among the treetops, but in reality, they are gliding ... not flying. And another surprise, they aren’t lemurs. And wait for it — they aren't even primates but arboreal gliding mammals.

Mountain Goat

(not a goat)

Although their cloven hooves, horns and shaggy coats make them look just like a goat, these expert rock climbers belong to the antelope family.