Wild Things: Spider Monkeys, Fire Ants, Hagfish and More...
Dinosaur "thunder thighs" and fast-flying moths
- By Arcynta Ali Childs, T.A. Frail, Megan Gambino, Brian Switek and Sarah Zielinski
- Smithsonian magazine, May 2011
Pacific Hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii). California, USA, Pacific Ocean. (Brandon Cole)
Name: The Pacific hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii), a bottom-dwelling scavenger.
Inside Out: Hagfish, which evolved hundreds of millions of years ago, are known for burrowing into the bodies of dead or dying fish and eating their way out.
Outside In: Hagfish also absorb nutrients through their skin and gills as they wallow. These "novel nutrient acquisition pathways," report Chris Glover of New Zealand's University of Canterbury and co- authors, hadn't been seen in a vertebrate.
Midstream: The authors call the dual-ingestion method a "transitory state" between aquatic invertebrates (many of which absorb food) and vertebrates (which eat it).
Learn more about the Pacific hagfish at the Encyclopedia of Life.
Additional Sources
"Traditions in Spider Monkeys Are Biased towards the Social Domain," Claire J. Santorelli et al., PLoS ONE, February 23, 2011
"Convergent patterns of long-distance nocturnal migration in noctuid moths and passerine birds," Thomas Alerstam et al., Proceedings of the Royal Society B, March 9, 2011
"Adaptations to in situ feeding: novel nutrient acquisition pathways in an ancient vertebrate," Chris N. Glover et al., Proceedings of the Royal Society B, March 2, 2011
"Global Invasion History of the Fire Ant Solenopsis invicta," Marina S. Ascunce et al., Science, February 25, 2011
"A new sauropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah, USA," Michael P. Taylor et al., Acta Paleontologica Polonica, March 2011
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