Snouters are a
taxon of
organisms, also known as
Rhinogrades, that populated the
Hi-yi-yi Islands in the
Pacific Ocean. All snouter species have in common a nasal
appendage that has
evolved to fit all of their
ecological needs. For instance,
Tyrannonasus imperator uses its four snouts as legs,
Emunctator sorbens catches prey in its voluminous nasal secretions, and
Otopteryx volitans flies by flapping its large ears while steering with its nose.
Snouters were first discovered on the island of
Hy-dud-dye-fee by the Swedish naturalist
Einar Pettersson-Skämtkvist in 1941. However, they have since become extinct, as the entire island chain sank into the ocean in the 1950s as the result of an earthquake triggered by the testing of an atom bomb. At the time of the earthquake, a conference was being held at the
Darwin Institute of Hi-yi-yi, so all the major experts on Rhinogrades, along with most of their
research material, were lost. The only evidence of the snouters existence remained in the form of a manuscript by the German
naturalist Harold Stümpke, which was published in 1957
Bau und Leben der Rhinogradentia; the English translation is entitled
The Snouters, Form and Life of the Rhinogrades.
No, actually. Snouters are a big joke. Bau und Leben der Rhinogradentia
was written by Gerolf Steiner, who also wrote an epilogue to the English
edition. Because his book included detailed drawings, notes, and references,
it has been accepted by credulous first year biology students everywhere
as accurate, to the perpetual delight of their cynical teaching assistants.