Hagfish ties itself in a knot

Apparently, October 19 was Hagfish Day. I nearly missed it. But please enjoy this video and celebrate for the next hour. Also recommended: This song about hagfish.

Video Link

Video via Creaturecast

Maggie Koerth-Baker is the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of Before the Lights Go Out, a book about electricity, infrastructure, and the future of energy. You can find Maggie on Twitter and Facebook.

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MORE: Delightful Creatures • ocean biology • pseudo-holidays • Science • Weird

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http://www.tulgeywooddesigns.com Amphigorey

Hagfish make the best Valentine cards.
chdunk

how would you bite off a piece of rotting meat if you didn’t have jaws?
EH

What is that disgusting slime?
- http://maggiekb.com/ Maggie Koerth-Baker
  
  That would be the hagfish’s disgusting defense mechanism. Check out this other video. Or don’t. I’m not exaggerating when I say it made me gag http://youtu.be/pmaal7Hf0WA
  - http://www.facebook.com/nickgold2012 Nick Gold
    
    LOL the jar labeled Hagfish Slime in that video is PRICELESS.
Calimecita

Thanks for the heads-up, Maggie!
I think Hagfish Day is especially relevant this year, when they have been welcomed back into the Vertebrates (with Philippe Janvier’s blessing).
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1428313809 Dustin Driver

Hagfish facts from Wikipedia:

Hagfish have cartilaginous skulls and no spines.
Hagfish secrete gill-clogging slime (seen in video) to evade predators
Hagfish slime is microfibrous when secreted and expands into thick goo when it combines with sea water
An adult hagfish can turn a five-gallon bucket of sea water into solid slime in minutes
Scientists think they tie themselves in knots to clean the slime off and get away from predators
They also use the knot behavior to gain mechanical advantage and pull hunks of flesh off carrion or prey
Once they tear a big enough hole, they dive into their pray to dine from the inside out
Hagfish can absorb dissolved organic matter through their skin
Hagfish are usually found in large clusters on the sea floor
Hagfish slime is used like egg whites in some cuisines
Some hagfish are very tasty when stir fried
- http://maggiekb.com/ Maggie Koerth-Baker
  
  A hagfish once buried Chuck Norris in a bucket of slime.
- voiceinthedistance
  
  “Hagfish slime is used like egg whites in some cuisines ”
  I’d like to know which cuisines, so I can make a mental note to avoid them.
  - N M
    
    Mmmm, hagfish mucus soufflé…
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1428313809 Dustin Driver

Hagfish teach tape worms how to be gross.
moz moz

I think what chdunk was saying was that the knot is how the beasty is able to get something to .. uh .. leverage itself against so it can pull the flesh away off the meal.
IamInnocent

Say what you want hagfish got talent !
Shibi_SF

Hagfish are like prehistoric beasties from outer space!