hagfishes
Primitive ocean scavengers
Hagfishes is the plural of hagfish, an eel-like marine animal that lacks jaws and a true backbone.
Hagfishes are among the most primitive vertebrates, known for producing copious slime when threatened.
They scavenge dead or dying fish on the ocean floor, burrowing into carcasses to feed from the inside.
Hagfishes have survived relatively unchanged for hundreds of millions of years.
Without a mandible
- slimeThick wet gunk
- eel-likeElongated and sinuous
- elongatedStretched beyond usual dimensions
- sinuousCurving in flowing turns
cylindrical · cartilaginous · notochord · craniate · vertebrate · chordate · barbels · scaleless
Protective bodily secretion
- mucilaginousThick, sticky, slippery
- slipperyLacking friction, hard-to-grasp
- viscousThick and slow-flowing
- defensiveProtective or easily threatened
glands · secretion · clogging · gel · ooze · fibrous · expandable · suffocating
Putrefying animal remains
- carcassSlaughtered animal's body
- detritivoreEats dead organic material
- decomposerOrganism breaking down corpses
- opportunisticExploiting circumstances for gain
feeding · burrowing · flesh · cleanup · scavenging · remains · decay
Extremely deep, unmeasurable
- benthicOf the sea bottom
- burrowingDigging to create shelter
- darknessTotal absence of light
- pressureForce upon contact
cold-water · seafloor · marine · saltwater · Atlantic · Pacific · temperate · tropical
Very old indeed
- primitiveIn earliest form
- CambrianEarliest Paleozoic period
- PaleozoicEarly complex-life epoch
- ancestralOf one's forebears
basal · living-fossil · Devonian · evolutionary · unchanged · primordial · progenitor
Of the peninsula nation
- grilledCooked on metal bars
- stir-friedCooked fast in hot oil
- delicacyRefined sensitivity or rarity
- leatherTanned animal skin
fishery · bycatch · commercial · exported
jawless
Without a mandible
sinuous · cylindrical · cartilaginous · notochord · craniate · vertebrate · chordate · barbels · scaleless · segmented
mucus
Protective bodily secretion
- mucilaginousThick, sticky, slippery
- slipperyLacking friction, hard-to-grasp
- viscousThick and slow-flowing
defensive · glands · secretion · clogging · gel · ooze · fibrous · expandable · suffocating · biomaterial
carrion
Putrefying animal remains
- carcassSlaughtered animal's body
- detritivoreEats dead organic material
- decomposerOrganism breaking down corpses
opportunistic · feeding · burrowing · flesh · cleanup · scavenging · remains · decay
abyssal
Extremely deep, unmeasurable
pressure · cold-water · seafloor · marine · saltwater · Atlantic · Pacific · temperate · tropical
ancient
Very old indeed
ancestral · basal · living-fossil · Devonian · evolutionary · unchanged · primordial · progenitor
Korean
Of the peninsula nation
- grilledCooked on metal bars
- stir-friedCooked fast in hot oil
- delicacyRefined sensitivity or rarity
leather · fishery · bycatch · commercial · exported
hagfishesflying fish
Marine glider with fins
sunfish · dolphins · surface · coral reef fish · tropical fish
hagfishestropical fish
Warm-water ornamental species
ornamental fish · koi · angelfish · clean · beautiful