If hagfish are caught by a predator, they can quickly release a large amount of slime to escape. When released in seawater, the slime expands to 10,000 times its original size in 0.4 seconds. If they remain captured, they can tie themselves in an overhand knot, and work their way from the head to the tail of the animal, scraping off the slime and freeing themselves from their captor. The hagfish’s mucus would clog the predator’s gills, disabling their ability to respire.
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