I've Been Lookin' for Something a Little Freaky for Halloween...

And as soon as I saw this photo of a "deep dweller," I felt as though I had found what I wanted. This specimen truly is a "winner." Back in 2013, it won the ugliest animal competition and became the official mascot of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society, a comedy troupe organized by British comic Paul Foot.

This society is dedicated to raising the profile of some of Mother Nature's more aesthetically challenged children. "The panda gets too much attention," says the group.

I came across this photo in the Oct. 28, 2015 issue of Fishing Tackle Retailer, The Business Magazine of the Sportfishing and Marine Industry. I then went to digging around the Internet to find a little background on the "blobfish," as this thing is called.

I first learned that this fish relies on its coating in a gelatinous mass, which is slightly less dense than water, to regulate its depth.

My research also revealed that the blobfish belongs to the fathead sculpin family, the piscine equivalent of the Addams Family...creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky. This "altogether ooky" animal lives 2,000 to 4,000 feet below the surface of the waters between New Zealand and Australia. Unlike most fish, this one has no swim bladder to help maintain buoyancy. Why? Because if he had an air sac, it would collapse under the extreme pressure at these depths. Having realized long ago that activity does these fish no good, they tend to remain almost, if not entirely, still.

Though the precise life expectancy of blobfish is unknown, deepwater fish generally tend to live longer than their shallow-water counterparts. Some stay alive for more than 100 years because of their lack of predators, and slow rate of growth and reproduction. How do they mate? "Nobody knows," say the experts. A guess is that they may lock in a clinging, rather conjugal embrace.

In any event, have a Happy Halloween.