On May 12th, news broke that today, the hashtag #The World's Most Recognized Ugliest Fish# has become a trending topic on Weibo. A viral video clip has sparked discussions among netizens.
The blobfish is widely considered the ugliest fish in the world, with seemingly no rivals. However, behind its appearance lies a sad story - it's not actually ugly, just forced to undergo a disfiguring transformation.
If you only see the photo above, you might agree that the blobfish is the ugliest fish in the world. But calling it ugly is actually unfair.
Actually, the anglerfish is a deep-sea creature that lives at depths of 600 to 1200 meters on the ocean floor. At this depth, it appears like an ordinary fish.
Their body structure is specifically adapted for the deep sea, where the pressure is immense and regular fish bodies would not survive. To maintain buoyancy, the water droplet fish is made up of a gel-like substance slightly less dense than water, allowing it to float on the surface and hover slightly above the seabed.
Due to this, when brought to the surface, blobfish suffer severe decompression damage, fundamentally altering their appearance. Their bodies often collapse upon being brought up, resembling a mournful face.
With fishing activities on the rise, blobfish are caught alongside other fish species. Although not suitable for consumption themselves, they inadvertently become bycatch due to living in the same deep-sea habitats as more delectable marine creatures like crabs and lobsters. Due to deep-sea fishing operations, blobfish are facing the threat of extinction.
This pitiful disfigured fish should never have been brought to the surface.
