Nature's Grossest Creatures

Science loves them, but don't look at this gallery on your lunch break

Blob Fish: courtesy NORFANZ

A good dose of nature can still soothe the psyche of the modern human, but sometimes nature, red in tooth and claw, can also just gross you out. Wasps turn helpless caterpillars into a 24x7 buffet for young ones, mama mantis snacks on the head of its former lover, and a frog gives new meaning to oral fixation when nurturing the kiddies.

Go ahead and judge. These creatures don't care whether they win marks for beauty by human standards -- anything goes when survival and reproduction are at stake. They compete to not win any Darwin Awards.

Perhaps it's time for us humans to reassess our thinking, rather than let an aesthetic sense blind us to natural forms and functions that work well. Maggots writhing in a wound can disgust, sure, but saving a limb without risking an attack by antibiotic-resistant bacteria? That's beautiful. Check out the following contenders to see if you agree.

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8 Comments

Except for the algae it isn't that disgusting.

SO COOL!!
I loved the "blobfish"

Oh dear god!......the only thing that scares me is the bot fly, wouldn;t want to find THAT in you!

:D

-THE KID

Ophiguris

from Upsala, Ontario

Hmm, Only the Bot fly really seems disgusting X_X. Especially because, from the looks of it, that thing tears right through flesh and burrows /IN/ your body. That's what creeps me out most Oo. As for the rest, they're not so bad. The Blob Fish DOES look a little creepy though, I suppose underwater, they might have some mass and may be able to support themselves, as whales do until they are on land.

And seriously, why is there no Port Jackson Shark?

Okay, I'm a trekkie geek. That blobfish reminds me of the Videans from Star Trek: Voyager!

the blob fish is hysterical! none of them were too bad. except the bot fly.... jesus, thats creepy. i would NOT want that thing in my back.

I think the Tongue Louse is cute it needs to be renamed the lamb bug.

marct22

from Golden, CO

That blobfish looks like a drooling Ziggy! Not David Bowie Ziggy, but that short comic Ziggy

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