Hagfish : The Most Disgusting Fish Ever

Hagfish belong to the Animal kingdom under the Chordata Phylum and are a type of Craniata (Craniata is not part of the rank system such as Phylum and Family). They are part of the Myxini class under Myxiniformes order and the Myxinidae family.

Hagfish are probably one of the strangest animals ever to call earth its home. They are enigma to scientists and marine biologists. For instance we aren't really even sure if it is a fish. We think it might belong to its own category since its genetically far more primitive than any other class of fish. We have found Hagfish fossils dating as far back as 550,000,000 years. They the only animal alive today to have a skull but no vertebrae this also hints to the fact that they aren't a fish.

Hagfish are on average around a foot and half in length. They look like an eel and have no fins but they do have a paddle like tail. They have no bones in their body but they do have a skull made out of cartilage and teeth made out of Keratin (the same things that your nails and turtle shells are made out of). They have 6 or 8 whiskers and only 1 nostril. They have terrible eyesight however there eyes are thought to be a very important clue in the evolution of eyes. They possess 2 brains and 4 hearts. 3 of these hearts are like the normal human heart however the 4th only circulates blood between the intestines and livers.

One of the most defining characteristics of the hagfish is a type of slime it gives off. It secrets a type of slime that once it comes in contact with water the water nearly instantly turns into a type of gel. The hagfish ties itself into knots to rub against itself in order to secrete more slime to produce more gel. It does this in defense against predators to surprise and distract them to make its getaway and also provides quick armor or a trap to slow down chasers. The gel could also clog up predators gills which would make them drown. They can secrete so much slime and the slime can convert so much water that they can turn 5 gallons into gel within a couple of minutes.

We know very little about how they reproduce. We don't think that they reproduce very often and this would point to an incredible survivability rate. There are theories that all Hagfish are both male and female. While some biologists believe that there ratio of female to male is 100 to 1 in favor of the female.

They have a very sluggish metabolism while in between feedings allowing them to go a long time without food. However when they feed they do so with a lot of vigour. They eat massive decomposing bodies. Usually whales or sharks. They then burrow into it and eat it from the inside out.

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