Comments

  1. Gvlgeologist, FCD says

    I never thought I’d see the day that I’d see such a speciest comment here. Ugly according to whom? I’m very disappointed in you, PZ.

    And, not parenthetically, I can literally not make heads nor tails of this. Looks like a piece of sponge rubber to me.

  2. fountainscholar says

    Ohhhh, but warty prowfish are adorable (entirely non-sarcastic comment from a die-hard ichthyologist).

  3. Ichthyic says

    entirely non-sarcastic comment from a die-hard ichthyologist

    …and I add a vote up for this fish, and a for Neoclinus blanchardi.

    just to be sarcastic about it, in a literal sense.

  4. Ichthyic says

    I can literally not make heads nor tails of this.

    It’s facing upwards; mouth is on upper right.

  5. Gvlgeologist, FCD says

    Thanks, Ichthyic. I assume that the little brown dot towards the top is the eye?

    To me, it looked like there was (vaguely) a face about 1/3 of the way down on the (as I now understand it) the ventral side, and I didn’t think that I could really be seeing that correctly.

  6. borax says

    I had to stare at that fish for about 3 minutes before I could see the fishy structures. It kinda looks like a deep fried fish fillet.

  7. Lars says

    How can this be so hard? It took me probably less than three seconds to figure it out the first time I saw the picture, and now everytime I look at it, I just see a somewhat camouflaged fish. ;>

    I guess it goes to show that seeing is learned behavior too.

  8. Ichthyic says

    I guess it goes to show that seeing is learned behavior too.

    a phenomenon in ethology related to the concept of “search image”.

  9. w00dview says

    Neoclinus blanchardi

    Ah, Sarcastic Fringehead. Now THAT is a common name! Way better than what was bestowed on poor old Pomatomus saltatrix. A shoaling predator which attacks and kills more than it can eat and a set of choppers than can neatly remove any digit and you call it a bluefish?! Were they called that before scientists realised these guys were basically saltwater piranhas?

  10. dogmeat says

    I’ll add a vote for beautiful, really cool example of camouflage. I’ll also add a “how didn’t you see it?” Like a few of the others, I saw right away the structures that show it’s a fish.