Hagfish Have One Of The Weirdest And Coolest Defense Mechanisms

Hagfish (credit)

Just came back from my trip to Sweden and in today's post I will share with you guys something really cool I learned today while I was waiting for my flight. 

Apparently, hagfish have one of the coolest defense mechanisms in the animalia kingdom! First let's watch a video, the good stuff begins at around 0:25 :

As you can see in the video, all the predators that tried to take a bite (like the shark at 0:36) changed their mind almost immediately. They even appear to choke on something invisible that got stuck in their mouth! 

So what's going on? Well, often the simplest answer is usually the right one. The predators on the video did choke on something! 

When attacked, hagfish have the ability to excrete a milky and fibrous slime from glands running their body which once it comes into contact with water can expand up to 20 liters of sticky, gelatinous material. This material not only surprises and distracts the predator but it actively chokes it as it accumulates in the mouth and gills. Imagine trying to take a bite out of your steak only to find yourself chocking a second later. That is one heck of a defense mechanism!

In case you wonder, here's the basics of how the slime works:

The slime is formed via the interaction between seawater and two components released by the slime glands: mucin vesicles from gland mucous cells, which swell and rupture in seawater to form a network of mucus strands, and intermediate filament-rich threads, which are produced within gland thread cells as tightly coiled bundles called skeins. [source]

Apparently, this slime that can expand up to 10,000 times in size upon contact with water has piqued the interest of the U.S. Navy. 

About a year ago, a team of U.S. Navy scientists and engineers at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) led by biochemist Dr. Josh Kogot and Materials Engineer Dr. Ryan Kincer announced  that they have produced a synthetic material made of the same proteins as the slime of the Pacific hagfish.

At the moment the official intended use of the synthetic slime is "to provide non-lethal and non-kinetic defense to the fleet."

"Researchers have called the hagfish slime one of the most unique biomaterials known. For the U.S. Navy to have its hands on it or a material that acts similar would be beneficial. From a tactical standpoint, it would be interesting to have a material that can change the properties of the water at dilute concentrations in a matter of seconds." said Dr. Ryan Kincer
 

And here's a cool new AMAZING video of a Deepstaria jellyfish released by EV Nautilus while I was away in Sweden. Enjoy:

 

Definitely one of their most amazing uploads in a while!

More Strange Animal Stuff

If you enjoyed reading  this post I am sure you will love some of my previous work:

• The Ass-Coconut, Pitcher Plants, Caterpillar Leaves & Dinosaurs (Day 3 in Sweden)
• Weird MRI Photos, 3-Eyed Beetles, Deep Sea Creatures And Other Cool Animal Stuff
• Can You Guess What Animal Has The Biggest Penis In The World?
• Meet The World's Strangest Ants 
• The Squid With The Human-Like Teeth! (Promachoteuthis sulcus!)
• Halloween Special: A Real-Life Monster Compilation
• Alien-Like Moth With Tentacles Terrifies The Internet - But Is This Creature Real?