The wonders of hagfish slime

“What keeps the boneless, jawless hagfish thriving after more than 300 million years? SLIME. The goop it exudes – a mix of mucus and special protein cells – expands to 10,000 times its original volume in less than half a second, potentially clogging the gills of competitors.”

This Deep Look episode from KQED shares just how these keratin-toothed creatures can capture prey and fend off predators, all thanks to the slime-releasing glands that run along the sides of their bodies. In 2019, Ed Yong wrote:

“The slime looks revolting, but it’s also one of nature’s more wondrous substances, unlike anything else that’s been concocted by either evolution or engineers.”

“[Chapman University’s Dr. Douglas] Fudge, who has been studying its properties for two decades, says that when people first touch it, they are invariably surprised. ‘It looks like a bunch of mucus that someone just sneezed out of their nose,’ he says. ‘That’s not at all what it’s like.’”

“For a start, it’s not sticky… The slime also ‘has a very strange sensation of not quite being there,’ says Fudge. It consists of two main components—mucus and protein threads. The threads spread out and entangle one another, creating a fast-expanding net that traps both mucus and water…”

There are around 76 species of hagfish on the planet, ranging from 18 cm (7.1 in) to 127 cm (4 ft 2 in) long. And they’re crucial to the health of the ecosystems they inhabit. Via Florida State University:

“Hagfishes are typically thought to occupy an ecological niche as scavengers. Their presence provides important ecosystem services like the removal of carrion falls and bycatch discards that would otherwise accumulate in the ocean floor and they also play a key role in the cycling of carbon and other nutrients.”

Read more about the hagfish at the Natural History Museum in London.

Then watch these related videos next:
• The deep-sea scavengers that feast on whale fall
• Banana Slugs and Secret of the Slime
• Slime Cannon Attack – How Velvet Worm slime jets work
• How To Make Glow-In-The-Dark Slime