A-z - Animals

10 ugliest animals on earth

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  • In the depths of the ocean around Antipodes lives a fish only a mother could love – the grimacing blobfish. This misshapen freak has "valley-shaped" eyes, a large, flattened nose, and a permanent frown that looks almost human.
  • Not only does the warthog have one of the oddest-shaped heads of any living animal, but its body is covered in warts, making it a serious contender for the ugliest animal in the world!
  • While its elongated, gnarled shell is fun to look at, the poor matamata turtle has one of the ugliest heads you'll find on an animal. Oddly enough, round feet and protruding nails aren't much better.

The ugliest animal in the world? Well, beauty is subjective. What is attractive in one culture may be vulgar in another. But sadly, some species are not ranked in any society. To that end, we've compiled a list of the 10 ugliest animals on Earth.

#10 Naked Mole Rat

Naked mole rat eating near plant roots
Naked mole rats live underground and are more closely related to guinea pigs, porcupines and chinchillas.

©Neil Bromhall/Shutterstock.com

Naked mole rats are ugly animals — from their wrinkled skin to their strange facial features to their hideous animal feet. They are mindless rodents that live in underground colonies. But their name is a misnomer, because the subterranean dwellers are neither moles nor rats. Instead, they are most closely related to guinea pigs, porcupines, and chinchillas.

To be fair, naked mole rats aren't even fully naked. Each individual has about 100 hairs on their body that serve as navigation whiskers. While they may not be the most beautiful specimens in nature's zoo, they live longer than any other rodent and are nearly immune to cancer.

#9 Blobfish

Three blob fish lying on a metal surface.
Since 2013, the blobfish has topped the Ugly Society's list of the ugliest animals in existence.

© Lack of Author Information/Public Domain – License

Blogger fish are ugly fish out of water. With their slimy bodies and unbalanced features, the blobfish defines what humans consider ugly. Deep-sea fish live near Antipodes, which scientists first classified in 1926. However, blobfish are not well known to the public due to their remote location. That all changed in 2003, when several were caught during an expedition.

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Since 2013, the blobfish has topped the list of the ugliest animals in existence published by the Ugly Society.

Click here to learn more about the barely moving blobfish.

#8 Monkfish

Monkfish with open mouth on white background.
The monkfish has a large flat head with a large mouth and a small body. These features help camouflage monkfish in deep water habitats.

© Image Partners/Shutterstock.com

Monkfish are extremely ugly animals. Known as the "poor man's lobster" and sometimes "sea monster," the monkfish has a flattened head, wide mouth, and relatively small body. Their eyes are small and round and exude an unattractive squishiness.

But monkfish may not care about our aesthetic sensibilities at all. After all, their distinctive appearance allows them to be well camouflaged in deep water dwellings – there's more to being alive than being pretty!

Click here to learn more about monkfish that live along the Atlantic coast.

#7 Hyena

Hyena standing near big rock and pond.
Hyenas have patchy fur and disturbing barks, making them unattractive to most people.

©Vladimir Wrangel/Shutterstock.com

The "clown" hyenas of the African savannah are rambling predators whose distinctive barking makes them all the more creepy. Hyenas are notoriously ragged, and their mottled coat adds to their disheveled demeanor. But you can't accuse hyenas of waste. Like a survival hunter who avoids waste, the hyena devours every inch of its prey.

Click here to learn more about hyenas, which are more closely related to cats than dogs.

#6 Warthog

Warthog standing on the grass.
Warthogs are covered with fleshy bumps that act as built-in armor when fighting predators.

©nwdph/Shutterstock.com

There's no denying that warthogs are ugly animals. Of course, their oddly shaped heads and big snouts aren't terribly attractive. However, it's the fleshy "warts" on their bodies that land warthogs on our list of ugly animals. But these bumps are not actually warts. Instead, they're built-in armor that protects boars in battle.

Click here to learn more about warthogs, which have two sets of tusks.

#5 yeah yeah

A close-up of Aye Aye with his mouth open.
Aye Ayes are small primates with long, scrawny fingers, sharp fangs, and huge ears.

©Eugen Haag/Shutterstock.com

Beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder. No doubt some people went "ooooh" in agreement. But to us, these tiny primates look like hapless pixies. And their wide-eyed faces aren't the only culprit. They also have long bony fingers, like the Wicked Witch of the West, along with long fangs and huge ears.

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It is the largest nocturnal primate in the world. It is characterized by its unusual method of finding food: it taps trees for larvae, then bites a hole in the wood with its forward-sloping incisors, creating a small hole, and inserts its narrow middle finger into it to pull the larvae out. out. This type of foraging is called impact foraging and it takes 5-41% of the foraging time.

Click here to learn more about the aye-aye, which can only be found in Madagascar.

#4 Matamata Turtle

Aerial view of a Matamata turtle against a black background.
Matamata turtles have long warty necks, spiky shells and flattened heads with an unfortunate snout.

©COULANGES/Shutterstock.com

While most turtles are cute, Matamata turtles are downright ugly. In Spanish, its name means "Kill! Kill!" If you stumble across a matamata turtle, that's probably your first reaction. After all, this species looks weird! Its warty neck protrudes from its unattractive shell, culminating in a flattened head with an unfortunate snout. It also has four clawed, oddly shaped ugly animal feet.

But like many ugly animals, the Matamata's repulsive appearance makes it one of the most ferocious predators in its habitat. Not only do they blend in perfectly with their surrounding swampy surroundings, but their long necks also provide a wide range of catch, making them ideal for hunting.

#3 Drosophila

Close-up of a fruit fly perched on a plant.
When viewed under a microscope, fruit flies have large, red eyes and a body covered in tiny hairs.

©Factory_Easy/Shutterstock.com

Drosophila is a particularly ugly animal. To the naked eye, fruit flies appear as swarms of tiny dots with no faces. But under a microscope, their unsavory features are magnified. Large red eyes dominated their faces, and wet beards were scattered on top of their heads. This combination equals one thing: ugly!

Click here to learn more about flies, of which there are approximately 240,000 species!

#2 Vulture

A bald eagle perches on a rock.
Vultures have long, rumpled heads with occasional appendages dangling from their necks.

©Carmine Arienzo/Shutterstock.com

The whole Vulture package is off-putting. Let's face it, bald eagles are ugly animals. Not only are these large birds picking at rotting meat all day long, but they also stink, and their faces seem to have a sinister aura. Their heads were long and wrinkled, and many had grotesque appendages and dangling things hanging from their necks. They are not dainty and pretty hummingbirds!

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While their real-life appearance is bad enough, vultures are often seen in cartoons and movies, with exaggerated features that make them even more grotesque. For example, check out the pair of wicked black vultures in Disney's 1937 film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Their bulging yellow eyes and red-tipped beaks take "ugliness" to new heights!

Click here to learn more about the bald eagle that has long been associated with the battlefield.

#1 Bedlington Terrier

A Bedlington terrier stands in the grass with its tongue out.
Bedlington terriers are considered one of the ugliest dog breeds.

© Tikhomirov Sergey/Shutterstock.com

The Bedlington Terrier is one of the ugliest animals and one of the ugliest dog breeds. It's hard to find an ugly dog breed, but the Bedlington terrier fits the bill. Medium-sized dogs are loyal and playful, but they don't rank high on appearance. For starters, their body has a tense silhouette. Second, their snouts are long and narrow. Sometimes, with the right grooming, a Bedlington terrier can look regal. But let's face it, nobility rarely matches looks, even among human royalty.

Click here to learn more about Bedlington Terriers, they are a very good breed.

Top 10 Ugliest Animals On Earth Summary

Let's take a final look at these animals that didn't make the cut in the "looks" department:

rank animal
1 bedlington terrier
2 vulture
3 Drosophila
4 Matamata turtle
5 good good
6 warthog
7 hyena
8 monkfish
9 blob fish
10 naked mole rat

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featured image

Ugliest Animal - Aye-Aye

© Eugen Haag/Shutterstock.com


about the author


Abby Parks is the author of novels, plays, short stories, poems and lyrics. She has recorded two albums of her original songs and is a multi-instrumentalist. She manages a folk music website and writes about singer-songwriters, folk bands, and other music-related articles. She is also a radio DJ for folk music shows. As well as being a pet parent to rabbits, birds, dogs and cats, Abby enjoys hunting for animals in the wild and has witnessed some of the more exotic ones such as Puffins in the Farne Islands, Puffins in Chiloe Southern Pudu (Chile), penguins in the wild, and countless wildlife of the Rocky Mountains (bighorn sheep, goats, moose, elk, marmots, beavers).

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