Some news stories get stuck in your mind like a song. My yearslong news earworm was the story of the truck full of hagfish that crashed on Highway 101 in Oregon in 2017 and the resulting gush of slime that covered the road, the cars, everything. How was it that these creatures could generate so ... much … slime ?! So when the idea of mucus-producing creatures was raised in a Deep Look pitch meeting, I unshelved that memory and got to answering that question! We located hagfish at the University of California, Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory, taking a trip up the coast to observe their unique behaviors. We discovered their cinnamon-rollesque resting state and incredible fish-carving skills, and of course were witness to oodles of slime. Please give this video a watch and learn more in this week’s newsletter. We're sure you'll enjoy your slime time!
When threatened by a predator, hagfish release slime – a mix of mucus and special protein cells. In less than half a second, the slime expands to 10,000 times its original volume, potentially clogging the gills of competitors.
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😁Hagfish are scavengers. They’re excellent at sniffing out dead animals to eat on the ocean floor. They also have rows and rows of sharp teeth.
🦈Hagfish can survive a shark bite. Their skin hangs off their body so vital organs can easily move out of harm’s way.
🌊They release slime that expands as soon as it hits seawater, which keeps competitors and predators away.
😮A hagfish can suffocate in its own slime. To prevent this from happening, it ties itself in a knot, which causes its slime to slide off.
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Behind The Scenes
Filming Hagfish with Karl Menard
Karl Menard, aquatic resources manager at the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory, in Bodega Bay, California, examines hagfish slime. The translucent substance is a mix of mucus and special cells that have combined with seawater.
“We were lucky enough to work with Karl. He confidently guided us on our hagfish journey,” says Deep Look producer Mimi Schiffman. “He got the hagfish to produce slime by moving it from tank to tank. In the short time that the hagfish was in a smaller tank, it generated an impressive amount of slime for us to film. It’s hard to see the slime when it’s in the tank, so Karl also maneuvered it out of the tank for us to see. And of course, when a hagfish jumped ship, Karl safely popped it back in the tank.”
See a video of Karl in action over on our Patreon. And, support us on Patreon to get exclusive access to additional behind-the-scenes stories, special swag and more, depending on your level of support.
