What better day than Friday the 13th to talk about animal phobias? While many phobias play an important evolutionary role, some...not so much. With that said, here are 13 of the most common animal phobias. Zoophobia - Fear of animals Being Zoo folks, we clearly don't understand this one. Not even a little. Ailurophobia - Fear of cats We all know the silly superstitions surrounding black cats, but some people fear cats. Even Mr. Snookums the house cat. Apiphobia - Fear of bees While bees are incredibly important pollinators, it's important to have a healthy respect for those stingers. Arachnaphobia - Fear of spiders This is perhaps one of the most common phobias. Spiders do occasionally bite (rarely causing serious harm), but are actually good to have around because they help control the insect population. Chiroptophobia - Fear of bats Bats are great pest control and rarely bite humans. And how could you fear this face? Entomophobia - Fear of insects Sure, insects may seem strange to us mammals, but they're actually a vital part of our planet. Without them, all life would cease to exist. Herpetophobia - Fear of reptiles For the record, reptiles are NOT slimy. Their scales are dry, smooth and gorgeous. Mottephobia - Fear of butterflies If you have this, you probably shouldn't come to the Safari Park's annual Butterfly Jungle event. Just sayin'. Ornithophobia - Fear of birds We think birds are pretty awesome, but clearly some people don't. Hitchcock didn't help the cause either. Selachophobia - Fear of sharks I blame the movie "Jaws" for this one. You have a much greater chance of being struck by lightning than being attacked by a shark. Icthyophobia - Fear of fish Not that many fish can actually harm you, so we're not sure where this one comes from. Scoleciphobia - Fear of worms Worms can seem weird to some of us vertebrates, but you can thank them for healthy soil. Cynophobia - Fear of dogs Believe it or not, some sources claim that dogs kill over 180 people every year. However, the overwhelming majority of dogs are total sweethearts. Matt Steele is communications supervisor for San Diego Zoo Global.