Heikegani were used by Carl Sagan in his popular science television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage as an example of unintentional artificial selection,[3] an interpretation published by Julian Huxley in 1952.[4] According to this hypothesis, the crabs with shells resembling samurai were thrown back to the sea by fishermen out of respect for the Heike warriors, while those not resembling samurai were eaten, giving the former a greater chance of reproducing. Thus, the more closely the crabs resembled a samurai face, the more likely they would be spared and thrown back.[4]
[Far Side cartoon of surfer gleefully running into the waves with a surfboard carried overhead as a creature from the Black Lagoon gleefully runs up the beach with a wagon carried overhead.]
This idea has met with some skepticism, as noted by Joel W. Martin. He posits that humans don’t use heikegani for food, and as such there is no artificial pressure favoring face-like shell patterns, contrary to Sagan’s implication.[4] The pattern of ridges on the carapace serves a very functional purpose as sites of muscle attachment. Similar patterns are found on the carapaces of other species and genera throughout the world, including numerous fossil taxa.
Sometimes we only see what we wish to see, and, being satisfied, look no deeper.
I’d be more impressed if the fish’s eyes were on the front. but with its eyes being where the human’s temples would be, it just means it has one heck of a ugly nose.
Peter Sis shared a story of his father seeing fish with human faces in his book “Tibet Through the Red Box” published in 1999. Fascinating story that this video adds some veracity to.
