Skate Face (Raja rhina)

A skate is a type of flat fish that feeds along the ocean bottom. They have a curious face-like structure on their underside, that is purely anthropomorphic. The eyes are not actually eyes, but olfactory sensors, perfectly placed to mimic the structure of a human face.



detail of the underside of a young longnose skate (Raja rhina)

A Goofy Looking Insect - The White-Headed Fly (Archytas apicifer)

Insects are almost always interesting in one way or another – at least for me. It is not lost on me that many people find the crawling, flying and creeping denizens of the insect world creepy if not completely revolting.


Nonetheless, it is rare that an insect makes me laugh. This little white-headed fly seems to have an abundance of personality simply because it has a face that can be anthropomorphized – an unusual occurrence in the world of diptera (flies)












white-headed fly (Archytas apicifer)