Hagfish

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/hagfish

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Class: Myxini
2. What is a hagfish and why is it called a 'slimy sea slug'?A hagfish is an ancient, jawless fish that lives in deep ocean water. It is called slimy because it can produce a lot of goo to protect itself.
3. How does a hagfish make slime?It has special glands along its body that release a protein when it feels danger. The protein mixes with water and turns into thick slime.

Cyclostomes: A group of jawless fish that includes hagfish and lampreys, representing primitive vertebrates.
Benthos: The ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers.
Olfactory System: The sensory system responsible for the sense of smell, highly developed in hagfish for locating food.