Ranking The 13 Ugliest Fish In The World

One thing is for certain, fish come in all shapes and sizes across the globe. Some fish can weigh thousands of pounds while others are so tiny they can barely be seen by the naked eye. Certain species possess a beautiful array of colors and patterns while others are downright hideous. Those are the ones we are paying tribute to today, the ugliest fish in the world.

What exactly qualifies a species as being one of the ugliest fish in the world? We are taking into account an array of factors from color to shape, and size to rare features. The list below of the 13 ugliest fish in the world is a comprehensive look at some of the most peculiar creatures on the planet.

These Are The 13 Ugliest Fish On Planet Earth

This smattering of the ugliest fish in the world skews heavy on saltwater fish but freshwater species get their time in the limelight as well. There are some eels that make an appearance as well as fish who call themselves eels but in fact, are not. Without further ado, let’s check out the ugliest fish in the world starting first with a subspecies of sculpin.

1. Blob Sculpin (Psychrolutes phrictus)

One look at the Blob Sculpin is all it takes to realize this fish has been the inspiration behind countless imaginings of extra terrestrials in Science Fiction. It is an other worldly creature and not in a good way. They are found at depths of up to nearly 10,000ft which means adaption to extreme environments has had its way with this species.

The Blob Sculpin has the appearance of a creature that has been suffering from a cold for the past six months and knows there’s nothing they can do about it, they’re both snotty and defeated. Miserable. That’s what this fish looks like, a miserable snotty sick alien.

2. Monkfish (Lophius)

There is a strong case to be made for Monkfish, aka ‘Poor Man’s Lobster,’ being the ugliest fish in the seven seas. Due to their peculiar head shape it seems like their heads and mouths account for over half of their bodies. They also have one of those dangling dorsal fins they can lure in prey with to eat them which has helped earn them the nickname of ‘sea devils.’

Monkfish swallow prey whole and open their mouths so fast and wide they suck up everything like a vacuum. Thankfully, this all happens around 3,000 meters/10K feet below the surface of the sea so we aren’t often privy to the horrors that Monkfish are inflicting on other creatures.

3. Wels Catfish (Silurus glanis)

The Wels Catfish (Silurus glanis) is, for my money, the scariest of the catfish species in existence. As far as freshwater fish species go, they are massive. Wels Catfish can weigh up to 300 pounds. They also appear out of nowhere and look like deformed water dragons hellbent on eating anything in sight.

These fish are scaleless and covered in a mucus that makes handling them after fishing miserable. Even still, as the largest freshwater fish species in Europe they are a popular game fish. It is not uncommon for Wels Catfish to feed on ducks and rats.

4. Angler Fish (Melanocetus johnsoni)

The Angler Fish has one of the baddest reputations in the deep ocean. These midnight black predators have a bioluminescent lure they dangle atop their heads to lure in prey at thousands of feet deep and devour them.

After seeing Finding Nemo, most people imagined these fish to be huge. Alas, they’re relatively small which lands them firmly in the ‘ugly’ category versus ‘scary’ because they post zero threat whatsoever to human beings. They live at depths from 650 to 4,900 feet deep throughout their lives.

5. Sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus)

This is a fish I have caught countless times in my life. And from the outside they look perfectly harmless with their black-and-white zebra stripes. Then when you open their mouths the horrors are revealed… Human teeth.

Of course, they are not actual human teeth but instead teeth that eerily resemble human teeth. These teeth enable the fish to eat hard shelled prey like barnacles, oysters, clams, and crabs. They can crush shells with ease because their mouths look like a horror film set in a dentist’s office.

6. Smooth Lumpfish (Aptocyclus ventricosus)

I have heard some people refer to the Smooth Lumpfish as one of the ‘cutest fish’ in the ocean. Those people are wrong. Dead wrong. These are the same people what would have you believe chihuahuas are friendly dogs and bulldogs are cute and not a testament to man’s hubris because they couldn’t survive 5 minutes in the wild let alone be birthed without complications, but I digress…

The Smooth Lumpfish Aptocyclus ventricosus is a cold water species found in the Northern Pacific Ocean. They look like balls of phlegm coughed up by other larger fish. They also have a large ‘suction disc’ that works as an adhesive pad and adheres them to whatever they’d like. Weird all around.

7. Bullseye Snakehead (Channa marulius)

The Bullseye Snakehead Channa marulius is arguably the ‘most invasive’ fish species here in Florida right now. Anglers who catch them are encouraged to humanely dispatch the specimens on the spot. For my money, I’d argue the Lionfish is a far more invasive species and a bigger threat in Florida as they overtake entire coral reefs and suck the life out of them.

One look at the mean mug on this fish is all you need to understand why the Bullseye Snakehead fish is on the list of the ugliest fish species in the world.

8. American Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula)

Let me first say that I love the American Paddlefish through and through. Is it an absolutely hideous fish? Sure. But are they lovable all the same? Absolutely.

American Paddlefish are an ancient breed, existing in their current form for the past 125 million years. They are said to be a “living fossil” species similar to the Alligator Gar. Their skeletons are mostly made of cartilage (not bone) and they have toothless mouths and thus are filter feeders so they just suck up their prey into those enormous mouths.

9. Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis)

I’ve listed the Pacific Halibut here but the Atlantic Halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus is also a bruiser, albeit smaller than the Pacific subspecies. Pacific Halibut can grow up to 8 feet long and weigh over 500 pounds. We’re talking fish the size of tiny boats and their eyes are all on one side of their bodies as the eyes migrate after they’re born.

That’s totally normal, right? The eyes shifting around the head as the fish grow larger. Nothing at all creepy and weird about that! It isn’t terrifying when these sideways-swimming fish suddenly appear off the bottom of the ocean where they have near-perfect camouflage in the mud and muck.

10. Gulper / Pelican Eel (Eurypharynx pelecanoides)

The Gulper Eel, or Pelican Eel, is the stuff of nightmares. It is also easy to see where the name ‘Pelican Eel’ comes from as these deep-sea eels have mouths that are SIGNIFICANTLY wider than their bodies.

While chasing prey, the Gulper Eel is able to open its mouth so wide, up to 1/4 of the length of its body, and swallow the prey whole. These eels can grow over 3′ long and can live at depths of up to 9,800 feet beneath the surface. They are total freaks of nature.

11. Mola Mola, Ocean Sunfish

The Mola Mola is the largest ray-finned fish on earth and can be found all across the planet. These fish are, undeniably, hideous. From afar they might look beautiful but you get up close and think ‘wow, it’s like they were made out of clay and someone ran out of clay.’ Not for nothing, orcas eat them by ramming them so hard these fish literally explode.

I was whale watching off Portland, Maine two weeks ago and we came across a handful of Mola Mola out in the water. They feed on jellyfish which boggles the mind because these fish can weigh over 2,500 pounds. How on earth can something that large sustain itself eating just jellyfish?!

12. Red-Lipped Batfish (Ogcocephalus darwini)

From the rear, the Red-Lipped Batfish (Ogcocephalus darwini) is a little drab but still ugly. From the front this fish looks like an aging Hollywood star who consulted with the world’s worst plastic surgeon to have their lips done.

The name ‘Red-Lipped’ isn’t just for fun. They have bright red lips that stand out like a sore thumb in the ocean.

13. Wolf Eel (Anarrhichthys ocellatus)

Equal parts terrifying and ugly, the Wolf Eel Anarrhichthys ocellatus aren’t even true eels so they’re also frauds. They have incredibly powerful jaws and large protruding teeth used for pulverizing hard-shelled prey with ease.

Starting out in life they are an incredibly bright yellow/orange before slowly losing all their luster and morphing into a grey/blue/brown monster of the deep. Wolf Eels can reach up to 8′ long and weigh up to 40 pounds from a diet of crabs and clams.