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These Are Some Strange-Looking Fish...

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Cichlid fish with a nuchal hump on its head
A cichlid fish with a bump on its forehead called a nuchal hump, which is thought to be either a sexual display or a method of storing fat. (Image credit: Cichlid fish image via Shutterstock)

There are some really weird-looking fish in the sea. And I do mean actual fish.

The folks over at The Fisheries Blog did a run-through of the "Top 10 Weirdest Things Found on a Fish's Head," and boy, are there some doozies. Some of the best include the "electrosensitve rostrum," found on goblin sharks and paddlefish. They look like the fish grew a Pinocchio nose, but are actually organs that are highly sensitive to electrical pulses — they can even sense the muscle twitch of a single tiny plankton! Equally as weird-looking are the "nuchal humps" found on male cichlid fishes that look like the fish bumped its noggin, but it may be used as a sexual display or for fat storage.

Read more about the bizarre things found on fish faces at The Fisheries Blog.

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Andrea Thompson
Andrea Thompson
Live Science Contributor

Andrea Thompson is an associate editor at Scientific American, where she covers sustainability, energy and the environment. Prior to that, she was a senior writer covering climate science at Climate Central and a reporter and editor at Live Science, where she primarily covered Earth science and the environment. She holds a graduate degree in science health and environmental reporting from New York University, as well as a bachelor of science and and masters of science in atmospheric chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology.