None
Wednesday, 22 February 2012

A new study has found the primitive hagfish, also known as a “snot eel”, can defend itself by releasing a noxious slime that chokes would-be predators.

The long, thin hagfish are almost blind and have no jaws but use tooth-like rasps to prey on dead and dying fish. Fossil records suggest hagfish have evolved for some 500 million years.

Researchers from The University of Western Australia, New Zealand’s national museum Te Papa and Massey University in Auckland recorded underwater footage which reveals – for the first time – the hagfish repelling sharks and bony fish using its gooey defence mechanism. The study was published in Scientific Reports.

“As soon as it is attacked, the hagfish releases a mucus-like substance from a battery of slime glands, which makes predators gag before quickly retreating,” says Associate Professor Euan Harvey from the UWA Oceans Institute and the School of Plant Biology .

Tags

Channels
Research
Groups
Science Matters