Climbing Fish

As per ScienceDaily, a new species of fish from tropical South America is confirming suspected roots to the loricariid catfish family tree. Lithogenes wahari shares traits with two different families of fish: the bony armor that protects its head and tail, and a grasping pelvic fin that allows it to climb vertical surfaces.

The discovery of both of these characteristics in Lithogenes suggests to ichthyologists Scott Schaefer of the American Museum of Natural History and Francisco Provenzano of the Universidad Central de Venezuela that the common ancestor of the Loricariidae and Astroblepidae probably could grasp and climb rocks with its tail and mouth.

It took years to pin down where the fish was found, but the team collected L. wahari after several trips further and further into the headwaters of the Río Cuao, a tributary of the Río Orinoco. They literally picked 84 specimens off of rocks.

Well, this is how it looks... Not so pleasant but interesting!

Ugly Animals - Climbing Fish

Puffer Fish

Before even I start saying something about this, let me make this straight and clear - "I LOVE Puffer Fishes. I personally think they are cute." However, one of my fellow readers wanted me to publish Puffer Fish in our "Ugly Animals" blog. So, this post is dedicated to that reader. Hope this makes you happy :-)

Puffer Fish are the second most poisonous vertebrate on earth (the first one is golden dart Frog). The meat of some species is a delicacy in both Japan (as fugu) and Korea (as bok-uh) but the problem is that the skin and certain organs of many puffer fish are very poisonous to humans.

This puffy fish produce rapid and violent death..Puffers poisoning causes deadening of the tongue and lips, dizziness, vomiting, rapid heart rate, difficulty breathing, and muscle paralysis. Victims die from suffocation as diaphragm muscles are paralyzed. Most of the victims die after four to 24 hours. There is no known antidote, Most deaths from fugu happen when untrained people catch and prepare the fish.

Statistics show that there were 20 to 44 incidents of fugu poisoning per year between 1996 and 2006 in all of Japan and up to six incidents per year led to death. Since Fugus poison can cause near instantaneous death, only licensed chefs are allowed to prepare it.

Ugly Animals - Puffer Fish

The Fangtooth

Very small in size and harmless to humans, the fangtooth is unapproachable due to his looks. It’s a good thing people can’t run into them very often while swimming, because they live at depths between 200m-2,000m, the Fangtooth is considered one of the deepest-living fish, at depths of up to 5,000m.

The Fangtooth’s front teeth are so large and spiky that they have evolved two sockets on either side of the brain to accommodate them while their mouth is closed. They are one of the most robust species of fish on the planet, able to live in fish-tanks where the conditions are very different from their natural environment.

Ugly Animals - The Fangtooth

Basking Shark

After the Whale shark, the Basking shark is the largest fish on the planet. It can be found in practically every ocean but like all the other species of shark it faces extinction due to excessive fishing.

This particular shark resembles a great white to the point when it opens his huge mouth. Then it is just a bit freaky, like a bone-tube sucking in everything in its path. This harmless, slow-moving big boy feeds on small fish, invertebrates, zooplankton from 2,000 tons of water per hour. He likes to eat this one.

Ugly Animals - Basking Shark

Stone Fish

A stone fish. they are absolutely hideous ((cringe)), are poisonous, and can be deadly!

About 20 species of stone fish occur in the Indo-Pacific. Wounds from a stone fish can kill any human unlucky enough to tread on the spines. This species is typical of its family, with its rough, scaleless body, large, upward-turning head and protuberant eyes. As its name suggests, the stone fish's coloring and shape camouflage it perfectly as it lies half-buried among stones or in rock crevices.

Do you know that Stone fish is considered to be the most venomous fish in the world, with its venom consisting of proteins. When a stone fish bites a person, its venom can be partially denatured by the application of a very hot compress on the site of injury. Stone fish, usually, release their toxin when in danger. They have 13 spines on their back that inject the toxin when pressure is placed on them. For instance, when a larger fish attacks or a person steps on stone fish, the pressure leads to release of the venom.

Enough with details now let us look at this sucker Lol

MonkFish

As Wikipedia says,

Monkfish (also known as Headfish or "Poor Man’s Lobster") is the English name of a number of types of fish in the northwest Atlantic, most notably the species of the anglerfish genus Lophius and the angelshark genus Squatina. The term is also occasionally used for a European sea monster more often called a sea monk.

It is a type of fish inhibits in the northwest coastal Atlantic area. It can grow up to a length of 5ft or more but the species with the length of 3ft are more commonly seen. It weights between 7 to 15 pounds but can also reach a maximum weight of 50 pounds. Its body is composed mainly of a huge, gaping mouth attached to a muscular tail.

There is an uglier thing when compared to these Monkfish. Wanna know what? Okay, Do a Google Search for Monkfish Recipes and there are plenty of results. YUCK! I wonder how can someone eat these fishes. I would die starving than eating these fishes Lol

BUT, I will tell you a "Monkfish as Food" fact - The only edible portions of the monkfish are its muscular tail and its liver. The tail meat of the monkfish is delicious: dense, sweet, and very similar to lobster tail meat in both flavor and texture. Like many fish, monkfish is an excellent low-fat, low-cholesterol source of protein and B vitamins. Monkfish liver is quite popular in Japanese cuisine, usually served as sashimi (Ankimo).

Ugly Animals - Monkfish

Frilled Shark

Sharks! When the hell have they been cute, huh? :)

This Frill Shark is the ugliest of all the sharks out there. Wikipedia says,

The frilled shark was first scientifically recognized by German ichthyologist Ludwig Döderlein, who visited Japan between 1879 and 1881 and brought two specimens to Vienna.

This shark is named so because it has 6 pairs of gills that are collar-like with frilly edges. Deep down the sea within 160 to 660 feet (50 - 200 meters) in Japan (Saruga Bay in specific), these Frilled Sharks mostly eat up the squids.

Ugly Animals - Frilled Shark

Snake Fish

Snake Fish really deserves all it takes to be this Ugly Animals blog. If I miss out Snake Fish then I should quit blogging about Ugly Animals :D

Really, this Snake Fish is so horrible looking. It was during 2002 when it was described as "Channidae" (Showy perennial of marshlands of eastern and central North America having waxy lanceolate leaves and flower with lower part creamy white and upper parts pale pink to deep purple).

This Ugly Animal has excessively greedy and grasping appetite. It eats all other fishes in the water and even consume its young ones. It can slide across land and has the ability live out of water for up to 3 days for seaching new sources of food.. Now that is a NEWS, Isn't it?

Another shocking thing about these ugly animals is, The snake fishes when they are on land can eat nearly any small animals that comes in its way. While most of the snake fishes are of two to three feet in lenght wikipedia says that they can be up to a meter long and over six kilograms weight.

Here are a few pictures for your (dis)pleasure :)

Ugly Animals - Snake Fish

Dracula Fish

The dracula fish (also knows as "Danionella dracula") is a species from tropical danionin fish category. This Ugly Animal originates from Burma and it is a freshwater fish. If you want to know why it is called as a Dracula Fish, check out its "fangs" then you will know for yourself.

This fish was identified in April 2007 when a payload of Aquarium Fish speciment were shipped to the United Kingdom. Till date, these Ugly Animals are found only in small number at Sha Du Zup between Tanai and Mogaung in the northern part of Burma. It is a colorless creature and it can grow up to 17mm (that is 0.67 inches) at the maximum.

The Dracula fish has an elongated stretched body shape with a real large head and big eyes. It however does not have scales and its upper body is prevailed by the jaws. If you think you can feast on these ugly animals for your dinner then you are wrong because a lot of the fish's flesh is rubbery.

Wiki says, The natural diet of the dracula fish is unknown but in captivity it eats shrimp larvae, small nematodes and fish flakes. Close relatives of the fish feed upon small crustaceans and invertebrates.

Ugly Animals - Dracula Fish

Blobfish

Some people think Blob Fish are comical looking and the others think they are disgusting. These Blog fishes are completely made up of gelatinous substance and have no muscles at all. They just drift and float in the same place all the time expecting their next meal. They do not put any effort in searching for their food. Aren't they just lazy asses?

This Blob fish are seen off the Australian coast and also in Tasmania but hey do not anticipate to see them on your holidays because they are very rare to come by.

Ugly Animals Blob Fish

A recent study says that

The blob fish, which can grow up to 12 inches, is in danger of being wiped out by over-fishing in its south eastern Australian habitat. The fish, which lives at depths of up to 800m, is rarely seen by humans but it lives at the same depths as other ocean organisms, such as crabs and lobsters and other edible sea creatures. As a result the fish, which is inedible, is being dragged up with other catches by trawler fishermen