Marine experts have shared a shocking video of a shark trying to take on a sixgill hagfish (Eptatretus hexatrema) and losing.
“You don’t wanna mess with a hagfish,” says Russell Dixon, a video analyst at South African National Parks (SANParks).
The surprising footage was captured by a type of hidden camera known as baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVs) that scientists use to monitor underwater habitats.
The video shows why even a shark would be foolish to take on this seemingly defenceless fish. “This creepy creature has superpowers,” says Dixon.
Hagfish are an odd-looking animal that look more like an eel than a fish. They don’t have a hard shell or even scales to protect themselves so a hungry shark might think they were easy prey – but they would be wrong.
- The giant moray eel is longer than a bed, covered in slime and has teeth in its throat
- It has enormous jaws, a tail that glows pink, and can eat prey bigger than itself – meet the gulper eel
“If you were a shark, this sixgill hagfish may initially look like a juicy meal without defences. But think again…” he says.
Hagfish have a bizarre self-defence strategy: when under attack, they overwhelm their enemy with a sticky slime that can clog up their gills.
In the video, a pyjama shark “tries to take a nibble of a hagfish and finds out the hard way” why that was a big mistake, according to Dixon. The shark immediately gets a mouthful of the suffocating slime and retreats. The triumphant hagfish can live to fight another day.
Image and video credit: South African National Parks (SANParks), supported by the SAEON-Shallow Marine and Coastal Research Infrastructure
More amazing wildlife stories from around the world
- Can any animals kill a great white shark?
- “A sight few have ever witnessed”: blue whale gathering stuns wildlife watchers in San Diego
- This adorable baby animal looks like the cutest little alien – you'll never guess what it turns into
- “Unbelievable thing to see”: Drone captures never-seen-before footage of penguin chicks plunging 50 feet into Antarctic Ocean
