Milky Way mass galaxies with X-shaped bulges are not rare in the local
  Universe
  Boxy/Peanut/X-shaped (B/P/X) bulges are studied using the 3.6 mum images from
the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies, and the K_s-band images
from the Near-IR S0 galaxy Survey. They are compared with the properties of
barlenses, defined as lens-like structures embedded in bars, with sizes of
about 50% of bars and axial ratios of 0.6-0.9. Based on observations and recent
simulation models we show evidence that barlenses are the more face-on
counterparts of B/P/X-shaped bulges. Using unsharp masks 18 new X-shaped
structures are identified, covering a large range of galaxy inclinations. The
similar masses and red B-3.6 mum colors of the host galaxies, and the fact that
the combined axial ratio distribution of the host galaxy disks is flat, support
the interpretation that barlenses and X-shapes are physically the same
phenomenon. In Hubble types -3<T<2 even half of the bars contain either a
barlens or an X-shaped structure. Our detailed 2D multi-component
decompositions for 29 galaxies, fitting the barlens/X-shape with a separate
component, indicate very small or non-existent classical bulges. Taking into
account that the structures we study have similar host galaxy masses as the
Milky Way (MW), our results imply that MW mass galaxies with no significant
classical bulges are common in the nearby Universe.
