Hagfish's ancient defences: 500 million years of slimy survival
It resembles an eel, is a scavenger, and lives at great depths. The brown hagfish, as it is known, is an extraordinary creature with an astounding ability to produce slime, which allows it to overcome sharks much larger than itself.
The underwater world regularly brings new species to science. Not long ago, scientists reported the identification of pink worms Pectinereis strickrotti inhabiting areas at depths of 1,000 metres. Similarly, the Pacific Ocean recently washed up a previously discovered but exceptionally looking anglerfish on a beach in the USA.
The brown hagfish (Pacific), or more precisely Eptatretus stoutii, is another creature that science has known for a long time but stands out among other species due to its astonishing abilities. Look closer at this fish, whose skills were discovered during a road accident.
It has lived on Earth for over 500 million years
At first glance, Eptatretus stoutii may appear to be a primitive organism – as reported by the Live Science portal, which notes that this species has lived on Earth for over 500 million years. These pink-grey fish reach over 60 centimetres in length, and although they have a skull, they lack jaws.
That, however, doesn’t prevent them from being a real threat to predators many times their size – including sharks. Hagfish can produce enormous amounts of sticky slime, which immediately clogs the gills of their attacking aggressor. One of the scientists studying this species explained to Live Science that no successful hunt on a hagfish by any gill-breathing predator has ever been observed.
The fantastic abilities of E. stoutii were discovered during a car accident involving nearly 3,600 kilogrammes of hagfish. The vehicle crashed, spilling its cargo, and the road was immediately covered with sticky slime. Douglas Fudge of Chapman University in California explained this was a stress response. He said that hagfish produce slime to defend against predators, but they also do this when stressed, and being thrown onto the road is considered stressful for the hagfish.
Although E. stoutii can overcome even the sharks mentioned above, it is not a demanding creature when it comes to food. It eats carrion, whale waste, and other decomposing animal tissues underwater. This helps keep the ecosystem clean and facilitates nutrient cycling in the seas. Besides, hagfish do not eat often – even in captivity, they are fed every 3-6 months.
