Wacky Animals

Hagfish (Phylum Chordata)

Hagfishes are eel-shaped, slime-producing marine fishes that are blind, jawless, scaleless and finless fishes. Hagfish are quite flexible having a cartilaginous skeleton. They have four small hearts and can grow about half a meter long. Hagfishes live all over the world’s ocean in the bottom depths of the oceans where it’s cool. Hagfishes has the most disturbing way to feed on their prey insides. A hagfish has an extendable tongue that have two curved rows of sharp teeth and a fang that grips their prey. Hagfishes obtain access by going through any opening such as a mouth, gill or anal in order to feed on their preys flesh, muscles, organs, and guts. Hagfishes primarily feed on dead organisms in the ocean.

Hagfishes are pretty well known for their slime. The glands of a hagfish releases a thick white fluid comprising vesicles of mucus and bundles of cells. Hagfishes can produce about seven buckets filled with slime. They also use their slime to minimize their prey from escaping. Hagfishes have wonderful knot-tying abilities they use this ability to help increase their feeding on prey. They bite into their prey and creates a knot and slides it up to their heading increasing the thrust behind their bite.

Hagfish are very important to the oceans ecosystem. Hagfishes are very well trained assassins they keep the oceans populations in check seeking out the frail and sick. They also transfer energy in the form of carbon throughout the ocean ecosystem. Hagfishes are also the best garbage truck cleaning up the aquatic life that is dead and rotting. Hagfish is also beneficial to humans, from being on a dinner plate in Asia to providing human health. Scientist are fascinated in the hagfish’s immune system. Researchers are engrossed in the Atlantic hagfish they have already identified three powerful antimicrobial compounds that helps them get rid of microbial diseases. Their slime may of value in biotechnology and used in cleaning products in New Zealand.

The Hagfish is an organism that has a very important job by keeping the oceans healthy and functionally properly. See after all Hagfish aren’t so horrible.

Frogfishes (Antennariidae)

Wacky Animal- Frogfishes

One out of thousands of wacky animals in the ocean is the frogfishes which is a cousin of the deep-sea anglerfishes. Unlike their relatives frogfish are found in shallow tropical and subtropical coral reefs throughout the world’s oceans. These strangle looking fish have quite a unique appearance. Their skin is thick and covered in highly modified scales called dermal spicules or they can be bare. These spicules are prickly in appearance and resemble the warts of a toad. Their globular bodies shape possess a short paddle-like tails, small top-set eyes, and really vast upward-opening mouths. Frogfishes are embellished in the brightest colors red, yellow, green, purple, or spotted and textured. Being garnished with beautiful colors frogfishes are able to blend in with their surrounding and take on the color and textures for sponges. To breathe, frogfish suck water into their mouths and push it out their armpits (pectoral fins). One of the coolest features of the frogfish is that they sit on and walk with their bottom pelvic and pectoral fins, how cool is that! Just like the anglerfish the frogfish has a modified dorsal spine that constitutes a rod and lure. This creative lure dangles the bait above the frogfish's mouth, sitting and waiting for food. The frogfish's diet consists mainly of smaller fish, worms and crustacean which, when in range, are lunged upon. It is also very difficult to tell a part male from female except before spawning, females are noticeable because their bellies bugle from eggs.

Why they matter

We think that Frogfish are a key representation of an animal adapting to various environment and a great demonstration of evolution. An example of their adaptions is some came adapt to look like a sea urchin they can even resemble the spikes. Frogfish fish can even do much more to adapt to their environment. Other frogfishes live around algae covered rocks, sponges, and along the sea floor this equips them to hide from predators and to lure in yummy potential prey.

Sea Urchin Frogfish

Rock frogfish

Red Coral Frogfish