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A few examples like the effortlessly elegant angel fish and the objectively horrible-looking blob fish confirm that marine life comes in all shapes, sizes, and appearances. But, did you know that the ugly ducklings of the underwater kingdom are under threat? According to new research on marine life-forms, humans might not care about the phenotypically odd-looking species enough.

Now, the question arises, why are we so selective in something so humane as conserving a fellow creature or species? By surveying almost 13,000 people, academics from a french university ranked more than 2400 reef fish on aesthetic value. From this, they concluded that the appearance-wise ugliest fish were the most at risk of being left out and eventually dying – yet they were among the most ecologically important creatures.

This makes us think that cute and charismatic animals like the Polar bear and panda drew the most funding and attention, while the other endangered species couldn’t. In such a scenario, It’s harder to imagine the gruesome – but critically endangered – Titicia frog as the face of a conservation charity.

We should remember that our support mustn’t vary according to how dreadful or splendid a creature looks. What’s important to remember is that their loss could have a disproportionate impact on high-biodiversity ecosystems.

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