Red-Lipped Batfish
This bottom-dwelling creature (pictured off Cocos Island in the Pacific Ocean) has an aww-inducing kisser.
This Is Why We Find 'Ugly' Animals Cute
Blobfish, aye-ayes and jumping spiders all have a little something that makes us go "aww."
Is a frogfish as darling as a kitten?
Some may say yes—but in an ugly-cute kind of way. When Ben Patten asked Weird Animal Question of the Week what makes humans see animals as cute, we decided to look into the psychology of why we find some odd-looking animals adorable.
Turns out it's the same reason we are drawn to traditionally cute puppies and bunnies: Big eyes, large heads, and soft bodies are infantile qualities that trigger adult humans' instinct to nurture and protect, experts say. Austrian ethologist Konrad Lorenz coined this behavior as "baby schema." (Read more why we find pandas and other animals so cute.)
Ugly-cute icons (at least according to our informal poll) include sleepy-looking sloths,
