Mixina: they strangle sharks from the inside (12 photos)

There are only two creatures in the world that can take down a large shark. They are the killer whale and the hagfish. The first is a killer whale, the alpha predator of the world's oceans and a toothy force of up to 7 tons! And the second is an underdeveloped creature that doesn't even have normal jaws!





Stranger for an hour. Did you call?

Usually in the first paragraph we describe the position of the animal in the taxonomic system. But the hagfish is so old that it has no living relatives. It's hard for us to imagine such antiquity, but just think about it: these bloodthirsty monsters appeared 500 million years ago!



If you think that hagfish don't have eyes, you're right! The only thing they have is eye spots. With their help, the creature is able to distinguish light from darkness.

What was on earth then? Nothing! The entire land was a lifeless, bare desert. Not a bush, not even a cockroach - insects hadn't appeared yet. It was more interesting in the water: the most primitive creatures had just begun to develop a spine. At that time, hagfish were at the evolutionary forefront - they were among the first to acquire a notochord. But that's where their development stopped. For the next millions of years, these creatures did not change at all! All 78 species of hagfish today are super primitive. They are the only animals on the planet that have a skull, but no full-fledged spinal column - only rudimentary scraps of individual vertebrae.





Why evolve when you are initially perfect?

The hagfish decided to forget about evolution, they were pursuing a much more important goal - to devour everything that exists. And this strategy turned out to be more than effective! They have survived 5 mass extinctions, a meteorite, dinosaurs, and, rest assured, they will survive humanity too. What is their secret? Oh, well, sit back and remember, because there is a whole bunch of stuff in there. And at the end, we will answer the most important question - how dangerous is this evil sock for people?



This ball of biomass does not look too friendly...

The hagfish's first weapon is their ingeniously simple anatomy. Essentially, the beast is a leather sack. It has a kind of spine floating in it, to which a few muscles, nerves, and intestines are attached. But the structure is held together by such flimsy snot that the beast can easily curl up into a knot or a ram's horn! Even the skin of the hagfish is almost not attached to its muscles. If someone wants to bite the ancient horror, the predator's teeth will only go along the skin, without touching anything important.



When you're confused about yourself.

The only thing the ancient monsters bothered about was their teeth. The entire front part of the half-fish is studded with rows of stake-like fangs. And what horrors it creates with them - my dear! The hagfish is both a predator and a scavenger at the same time. Most often they are found in already deceased carcasses. The bastards climb inside and greedily devour the entrails. But the worst thing is that the hagfish can do the same thing to live fish!



With teeth like these, it's better not to go to the dentist!

All thanks to the second weapon - mucus. Nasty, thick, suffocating mucus that is produced in the glandular cells on the sides of the body. If you look under a microscope, it will look like a fishing net made of the finest protein threads up to 15 centimeters long. They swell in water, cling to everything around and get tangled tightly. The threads are thin, but very strong: scientists are developing cutting-edge bulletproof vests based on them.



That same sausage that lay in the refrigerator for six months and became covered with a nasty film.



When you sneeze in a public place but forget your handkerchief.

If the hagfish gets scared, it will immediately release mucus. It can secrete almost a liter at a time! The cloud gets into the predator's mouth, gets stuck in the throat, penetrates the gills and completely blocks the flow of fresh water. If you don't spit out the prehistoric infection in time, even a shark can suffocate. In fact, the hagfish is absolutely untouchable for all those who breathe through gills!



Even a tiny cloud of mucus was enough to drive away the predator.

Once in the mouth and clogging the enemy's breathing apparatus with mucus, the hagfish turns from prey into a hunter. It bites into the flesh and gets to the insides. That's where the battle ends. The hagfish will remain in the victim's body until it has gnawed it down to the bones. Remarkably, hagfish don't even have to eat their prey in the usual sense: they can absorb nutrients directly through their skin. Brrr! Evolution really knew how to come up with horror stories!



A typical buffet at a resort in Turkey.

The third weapon is longevity. For creatures half a meter long, the hagfish lives a paradoxically long time - 40-50 years! The reason for this is a slow metabolism. The metabolism of hagfish is so sluggish that they can go without food for several months! At the same time, they have enough strength to spawn every year. They do this by descending to the bottom. One female lays up to 30 eggs in a hard shell. The embryos develop slowly - up to 11 months. To prevent the babies from going on an open voyage ahead of time, the mother wraps them in a blanket of mucus, securing them to the substrate.



Hagfish come to the surface exclusively at night. They spend most of the daytime buried in the ground.

Now that you know everything about hagfish, it's time to reveal the main intrigue. How dangerous are these ancient creatures to us? Surprisingly, not at all! Although their teeth are sharp, the hagfish is not strong enough to bite through human skin. The only thing that can cause minimal damage is mucus. It has a specific and not very pleasant smell. And if it gets on the skin, it can cause an allergy in especially sensitive people.



This driver was doubly unlucky. Not only did he get into an accident, but he also collided with a truck that was transporting hagfish. All you see is mucus.

Fishermen both love and hate hagfish at the same time. On the one hand, parasites spoil the catch in nets. They climb through the mesh in a whole bunch and bite off all the fish they can get. On the other hand, hagfish are eaten with pleasure! Asians have a special love for them - in South Korea and Japan, they are a valuable commercial species. In other countries, hagfish are processed into leather. Yes, these monsters have quite strong leather. They make wonderful wallets and straps.