Have You Met a Hagfish? It’s About Slime | Deep Look

What keeps the boneless, jawless hagfish thriving after more than 300 million years? SLIME. The goop it exudes – a mix of mucus and special protein cells– expands to 10,000 times its original volume in less than half a second, potentially clogging the gills of competitors. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! Please join our community on Patreon! DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. --- What happens when a predator bites into a hagfish? That predator will get a mouthful of slime! When threatened, the hagfish releases slime from pores that run alongside its body. That slime swells to more than a liter in less than half a second. --- Why does a hagfish have loose, baggy skin? The hagfish’s loose skin is a first line of defense. Its vital organs move out of harm’s way inside of that baggie onesie, allowing the hagfish time to release slime. --- Find additional resources and a transcript on KQED Science: --- More Great Deep Look episodes: Banana Slugs: Secret of the Slime You’re Not Hallucinating. That’s Just Squid Skin. --- GIF CHALLENGE WINNERS: 🏆Congratulations 🏆to the following 5 fans who gave us the best WRONG ANSWERS for our Community Tab GIF Challenge, “Why does the hagfish tie itself in knots?“ Mister Pomelo 39 votes Frankie Aguayo 18 votes TheWhiteScatterbug 17 votes Alex Da Cat 10 votes PotatoCatStar 7 votes We also had one *correct* answer: & Leo --- Thank you to our Top Patreon Supporters ($10 per month)! Burt Humburg Karen Reynolds Companion Cube Daisuke Goto David Deshpande Chris B Emrick Tianxing Wang Wade Tregaskis Mark Jobes Blanca Vides Laurel Przybylski Kevin Judge Cindy McGill monoirre Supernovabetty Roberta K Wright Titania Juang El Samuels Jessica Hiraoka Syniurge Carrie Mukaida KW Nicky Orino Mehdi Jellyman Cristen Rasmussen Kelly Hong Laurel Przybylski SueEllen McCann Noreen Herrington Nicolette Ray Shelley Pearson Cranshaw Louis O’Neill Caitlin McDonough Jeremiah Sullivan Delphine Tseng Levi Cai Elizabeth Ann Ditz TierZoo --- Follow Deep Look and KQED Science on social: @deeplookofficial Instagram: Twitter: --- About KQED KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media. Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, the largest science and environment reporting unit in California. KQED Science is supported by the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, Campaign 21 and the members of KQED. #hagfish #slime #deeplook