Drop fish: a beautiful animal that was undeservedly called the ugliest in the world (8 photos)

For several years now, these unfortunate creatures have been considered the ugliest on the planet. And they are not scary, they are just out of place!





When I fell asleep on the beach and woke up five hours later completely burned. I still don’t understand whether this photo is photoshopped or not. Most likely yes.

The Blobfish, also known as Meme Blobby or UG, is one of 11 species of deep-sea fish in the genus Psychrolutes. These creatures look similar to each other, and they behave the same, so we can call them all blobs at once. Well, when they are raised to the surface, the drops become like two drops of water - every single one of them is terrible!



Those same three dumplings that fell out of the pack and have been lying at the bottom of the freezer for an eternity.

Psycholutes are sometimes caught by fishermen as bycatch during deep-sea fishing for marine life. 600-1200 meters below sea level somewhere near the Australian continent - this is their home.

During a sharp rise from such a depth, severe deformation of all fish tissues occurs; they literally “swell.” For comparison: if a person dives to a depth of at least 30 meters and suddenly wants to return back to his native environment, he will immediately die. Nitrogen bubbles in the blood will clog small vessels and foam the blood - our body cannot survive this. And the unfortunate fish are caught for a whole kilometer!





In their natural habitat and on the surface. We are all a little bit of a fish when we are out of place!

So all these meme photos of sad jelly-like monsters show us not the real blob fish as it is, but what happens to the carcass of this creature after it rises to the surface. Do you understand now why they are so scary in the photos? It’s just that their entire anatomy, down to the last cell, is tailored for deep-sea life, but not for the surface!



This photo is photoshopped. The fish only looks like this on the surface.

Blobbies don't have strong bones, which is why their body spreads out like jelly. Convenient if you consider fish as lunch. True, the dish from the drop will turn out watery - it doesn’t have normal muscles either!



Sad and not very tasty.

But in its native environment, the drop looks like the most ordinary fish! An elongated body up to 30 centimeters in length, radiant fins on the sides and a large head with expressive black eyes. Yes, not the ideal of beauty, but not this swollen horror either. And compared to other deep-sea inhabitants, she is absolutely beautiful!



At the bottom of the ocean we saw much more frightening creatures!

They need increased fatness to survive. Due to the terrible pressure of the kilometer-long water column, there is no reason to pump the bitsuha - actively moving there is too expensive and too useless. Where to swim if there is darkness and emptiness all around? So the psycholutes don’t know, so they rely on the fat layer and drift near the bottom until the current brings food directly into their mouths. Any living little thing will come down, and not the most living carrion that descends from above. They don't click their beaks at the bottom!



This camera looks pretty tasty... What, it's not edible? Are you edible?

It is still not really known how blob fish choose their partners. Darkness, of course, is the friend of youth, but if you are at the bottom of a huge ocean, how can you even find your soulmate there? But since the psycholutes could do it, then you can someday, on the surface it will be easier. Scientists know one thing: females, by some miracle, swim to rocky areas of the bottom, where the ambient temperature is slightly higher, to spawn. At a certain period of time, males appear and fertilize the finished clutch.



Yes, I am a little different from the photo that is on my profile on a dating site. But this doesn’t mean that I need to be thrown overboard!

Females stay with the droplets for some time. Why is unknown. Maybe maternal instinct makes them stay close to the babies. Or maybe fish simply cannot swim away from the place where they reproduce!

And by the way, do not believe any photographs that allegedly show the cubs of these fish. Scientists have not yet found a single specimen of juveniles!