# World's most hideous animal **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 18, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850 "2011-02-18T20:45:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/21 "2011-02-19T11:01:52Z")
The Corgi ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/22 "2011-02-19T11:17:03Z")
I’ve seen naked mole rats in the, er, flesh at the Singapore Zoo. They’re actually pretty cute in person. For my choice, I’ll have to think about it some. Maybe leeches. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/23 "2011-02-19T12:14:56Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > The angler is notable in that the male is like 100th the size of the female, and bites her on the side, and fuses with her body becoming an atrophied sperm machine. Sounds like marriage actually. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/24 "2011-02-19T14:22:13Z")
I think naked mole rats, too. Hidious things. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/25 "2011-02-19T15:54:24Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Agreed with others that this doesn’t count because of lack of vertebrae, but if we WERE allowed to use it, I’d have to trump it with [Cymothoa exigua](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymothoa_exigua), the Tongue-Eating Isopod. Only because it’s conceptually more horrific than some free-swimming sea bug, no matter how big. Holy crap. I’ve never heard of these before but that’s pretty horrific. > [@](#): > > This parasite enters through the gills, and then attaches itself at the base of the spotted rose snapper’s (Lutjanus guttatus) tongue. It extracts blood through the claws on its front, causing the tongue to atrophy from lack of blood. The parasite then replaces the fish’s tongue by attaching its own body to the muscles of the tongue stub. The fish is able to use the parasite just like a normal tongue. That is some straight up Giger shit. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/26 "2011-02-19T16:10:37Z")
My sister. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/27 "2011-02-19T16:20:33Z")
Some of the ugliest have been mentioned, so I’ll submit the Tapir. Sure, it’s kinda [unassuming](http://api.ning.com/files/mYh*sDz5TSBOaH4f2wamyF9dy23ZtXiJWCWwGdHTRdvxVcjwyABPKMlAm4uISVdJD8u3Uw0X7sFxkjUVtlfHaovX8SxDzTY3/tapir1.gif) at first. Perhaps even cute when a [baby](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Dn9PVeD8ezA/RykOd2o0YPI/AAAAAAAAAys/cXvKkhQ37qc/s400/baby+tapir.jpg). But then… it [smiles](http://s3.amazonaws.com/files.posterous.com/nickmb/x5YuSMyQjwT2pnYvc88inGDIxT1ccOQ79Jf9QcOhIZvqZJq56DvWRnFIBNmn/tapir.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJFZAE65UYRT34AOQ&Expires=1298132707&Signature=JFvnHWeuKhbF1Etb496lD6eSOps%3D). ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/28 "2011-02-19T16:48:49Z")
> [@Savannah](#): > > I don’t know if slugs count. Do they have vertebrae? Breakin’ my heart, you are. Slugs are one of my very favorite things. The fewer bones the better, that’s what I always say! I don’t really find any animals ugly, but apes freak me out in a kind of existential way, because they’re [almost human, but not human.](http://www.thehotjoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/greatape.jpg) I once had a gorilla mother look at me through the window of a zoo exhibit… it was the most exhausted, ‘‘Can’t you just leave me alone?’’ sort of look and it was so human I’ve forever been haunted by it. As such, I find them hard to look at. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/29 "2011-02-19T16:59:16Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Breakin’ my heart, you are. Slugs are one of my very favorite things. The fewer bones the better, that’s what I always say! But then they wouldn’t be crunchy! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/30 "2011-02-19T19:37:00Z")
Joan Rivers without her makeup. [http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mamapop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/cryptkeeper.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mamapop.com/2010/08/real-housewives-jersey-recap-drink-holy-water.html&usg=\_\_4F-OtQMKNufCsZuQEtJC0N5iBG8=&h=399&w=600&sz=30&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=HUNaOHG2NFwDkM:&tbnh=86&tbnw=130&ei=yhtgTcTMG4WssAOC4c3QCA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcryptkeeper%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26channel%3Ds%26biw%3D917%26bih%3D369%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C138&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=615&vpy=57&dur=351&hovh=150&hovw=226&tx=197&ty=131&oei=yhtgTcTMG4WssAOC4c3QCA&page=1&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:0&biw=917&bih=369](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mamapop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/cryptkeeper.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mamapop.com/2010/08/real-housewives-jersey-recap-drink-holy-water.html&usg=__4F-OtQMKNufCsZuQEtJC0N5iBG8=&h=399&w=600&sz=30&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=HUNaOHG2NFwDkM:&tbnh=86&tbnw=130&ei=yhtgTcTMG4WssAOC4c3QCA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcryptkeeper%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26channel%3Ds%26biw%3D917%26bih%3D369%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C138&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=615&vpy=57&dur=351&hovh=150&hovw=226&tx=197&ty=131&oei=yhtgTcTMG4WssAOC4c3QCA&page=1&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:0&biw=917&bih=369) ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/31 "2011-02-19T23:24:06Z")
Damn…[Tubiflex worms](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQmFWYWqTZA) are disqualified, ain’t they? ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/32 "2011-02-19T23:56:32Z")
Marg Helgenberger (Catherine Willows from CSI) without makeup. I saw a pic about a month ago, can’t find it now. Apparently some plastic surgery went bad or something. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/33 "2011-02-20T01:46:22Z")
Since no one else has mentioned them, I’ll nominate warthogs. And their relative, [babirusas](http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&gbv=2&biw=1003&bih=580&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=babirusas&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=), which make warthogs look like Miss America. But the blobfish was one of my first thoughts. Angler fish are also very deserving candidates. Actually, most of the fish at that depth look like the spawn of Cthulhu. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/34 "2011-02-20T02:38:05Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Since no one else has mentioned them, I’ll nominate warthogs. And their relative, [babirusas](http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&gbv=2&biw=1003&bih=580&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=babirusas&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=), which make warthogs look like Miss America. Aw, but look at baby [babirusa](http://images.chron.com/blogs/tmi/Babirusa-0051%20%282%29.jpg)! ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/35 "2011-02-20T04:18:11Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Damn…[Tubiflex worms](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQmFWYWqTZA) are disqualified, ain’t they? Good God! I can’t tell its head from its rectum! ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/36 "2011-02-20T04:24:37Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Agreed with others that this doesn’t count because of lack of vertebrae, but if we WERE allowed to use it, I’d have to trump it with [Cymothoa exigua](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymothoa_exigua), the Tongue-Eating Isopod. Only because it’s conceptually more horrific than some free-swimming sea bug, no matter how big. That article has the dumbest sentence ever. It says that they’re not dangerous… unless they’re alive. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/37 "2011-02-20T17:05:17Z")
I think the OP nailed it with the naked mole rat. Though using ‘nailed it’ in that sentence brings up some unpleasant mental images. > [@bouv](#): > > Blobfish. They’re [adorable](http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fly53.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/blobfish.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fly53.com/generation53/daily-bread-why-so-sad/&h=246&w=300&sz=33&tbnid=M_Lu5cz8qtm6MM:&tbnh=95&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dblobfish&zoom=1&q=blobfish&usg=__8q_TtnG7308rSnxnNrdK4qAHKKc=&sa=X&ei=0UhhTeOUEaOL4gaaqpXFCQ&ved=0CCEQ9QEwAQ)! They look so depressed, they make me go awww in sympathy. That little fella looks like he had a hard day at work but was sustained by thinking all day of the cake waiting for him at home, only to discover, when he got home, that someone else had eaten it and it was all gone. Awww. ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/38 "2011-02-20T17:48:33Z")
Those goldfish breeds with a head growth are creepy and not cute. When I was a kid I thought their brains were showing. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/39 "2011-02-20T19:35:05Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I’d have to trump [Giant Isopods] with [Cymothoa exigua](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymothoa_exigua), the Tongue-Eating Isopod. Only because it’s conceptually more horrific than some free-swimming sea bug, no matter how big. More horrific? Most certainly. Those buggers are nightmare fuel that even their big boy cousins can’t match. But uglier? Nah. They look about the same, only tinier, so the Giant has a lot more room to pack ugly in, and you can actually SEE it without getting close enough to have your tongue devoured. \>\_\> But, yeah, no spines, so neither of them count. Pity, 'cuz…hard to beat them. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850/40 "2011-02-21T06:51:33Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > I we’re talking about the face, I wouldn’t want to kiss a [lamprey](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Diversas_lampreas.1_-_Aquarium_Finisterrae.JPG). Arrggghgghh! Aggggghhhhhhhhhhh! Dentata. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worlds-most-hideous-animal/571850.md?page=3)