A Face Only a Mother Could Love

How could anyone resist a face like this? The blobfish, Psychrolutes marcidus, looks like it needs a friend. And maybe a good exercise program.

With its flabby body and big lips, the blobfish was recently voted the ugliest animal in the world. Still, some people find those sad-looking eyes and big, cartoonish nose “cute” (and female blobfish must see something attractive). One thing seems clear—our Creator has a sense of humor.

© NORFANZ Founding Parties | Kerryn Parkinson

Despite its misshapen appearance, the pudgy design is actually just right for its habitat. Living near the ocean floor—at depths of 2,000 to 3,900 feet (600 to 1,200 m)—requires special provisions. Gas bladders, which surface fish use to maintain buoyancy, do not work well in the blobfish’s high-pressure, deep-sea home. So it sports a flabby, floating mass not quite as dense as the water it swims in.

Not that blobfish do a lot of swimming—they just hover at the bottom of the sea without wasting precious energy.

Because of its remote habitat, not much else is known about the blobfish’s lifestyle. But with little muscle, it clearly is no fearsome predator. It drifts lazily above the ocean floor, sucking up whatever food drifts into its reach, a couch potato without a couch.

We’ll never reach the bottom of the list of strange creatures God made for His delight and our wonderment.