"Master Chen, keep an eye on him. If this guy gets lucky and really catches a shark, remember to give him a hand and don't let him be dragged into the sea by the shark." Xiang Yang joked to Chen Qingsheng about Fang Youqun.
Chen Qingsheng grinned, "Don't worry, Captain. If it can catch a shark with its fishing skills, I will catch a whale and show it to you in a while."
Xiang Yang grinned when he heard this. He knew that Chen Qingsheng was joking.
Fang Youqun, on the other hand, curled his lips, looking very unconvinced, and threw the fishing line into the sea, mumbling, "I'll catch a shark soon, don't be jealous."
Xiang Yang smiled and shook his head, too lazy to bother with this guy.
As a result, at this moment, Fang Youqun's fishing float suddenly sank rapidly to the bottom of the water, and at the same time, the fishing line bundle also began to rotate rapidly.
Xiang Yang was shocked and thought to himself, could this guy have really caught a shark
Xiang Yang quickly ran to the side of the ship and took a look at the bottom of the sea.
At first glance, Xiang Yang did not recognize the creature that Fang Youqun caught.
I saw that the thing looked like an oversized earthworm, gray-red in color, without eyes, with a wide mouth and a body as long as a snake.
Then Xiang Yang remembered that in the south of the South Pacific, in some extremely deep and bottomless waters, where there was no sunlight or temperature, there lived an ancient fish called the blind eel.
The blind eel is a close relative of the gill eel, commonly known as the drill-belly fish. Its body is like a river eel, with a smooth and soft appearance. The front half of the fish body is cylindrical, while the back half is flat, and it looks like a fat earthworm.
Xiang Yang carefully observed the hagfish and found that it really looked like an earthworm.
There are no upper or lower jaws in its wide mouth. Instead, its mouth is a huge suction cup. Inside the suction cup are sharp keratin teeth, like rows of combs, which can scrape meat off the prey.
Fang Youqun saw that the float had reacted as soon as he put down his bait, and the reaction was so intense that he immediately shouted with joy, "Brother Yang, look, look, I caught it, I caught a big fish."
"It's probably a hammerhead shark." Fang Youqun said expectantly.
"It's a big fish, give me the fishing rod." Chen Qingsheng said directly.
Fang Youqun immediately handed the fishing rod to Chen Qingsheng. In terms of fishing skills, Fang Youqun was still far inferior to Chen Qingsheng. Although he didn't know what kind of fish it was, Fang Youqun already knew in his heart that he couldn't catch it by himself and had to ask Chen Qingsheng for help.
Chen Qingsheng skillfully loosened the fishing line, and soon the hagfish was pulled onto the deck.
"Fuck, what kind of fish is this? It's so ugly." Fang Youqun, who was full of expectations, cursed immediately after seeing the hagfish.
"Be careful, this guy is called a hagfish and is very dangerous." Chen Qingsheng said in a low voice.
Hagfish are very famous in the biological world.
About 600 million years ago, the mountains on Earth moved violently, colliding and breaking to form many caves.
It was from that time that the hagfish began to live in the dark and deep sea.
After 600 million years of evolution, hagfish have fully adapted to an environment without sunlight, greenery, or competition.
Hagfish have no eyes, and their transparent bodies allow their spine and internal organs to be clearly seen. Normally, they survive by filtering microorganisms in the water. When they encounter prey, they can use their suction-like mouths to scrape off a layer of flesh from the prey.
Evolution is fair in a certain sense: what is lost will be compensated in other aspects.
The hagfish is a good example of this.
After being trained in harsh environments, hagfish become not afraid of heat or cold and can survive in water temperatures ranging from 40 degrees Celsius to minus 20 degrees Celsius. This is a feature that no other fish possesses.
What’s even more amazing is that in order to survive the long years of food shortage, the hagfish evolved four hearts. It can go without any food for half a year and still live well.
In the past, humans have always believed that hagfish perceive environmental changes mainly through their mouth tentacles and facial nerves.
But after careful research, scientists discovered that what guides the hagfish to accurately approach its target is not only its tentacles and facial nerves, but also extrasensory cells that are spread throughout the body and are difficult to see with the naked eye.
In addition, in addition to the fact that the line detection system of hagfish is more sensitive than that of ordinary fish, the functions of their tiny protruding sensory cells are also maximized, and can completely replace the visual organs.
The tentacles of the hagfish can not only detect extremely small fluctuations, but also have taste buds on them that are sufficient to distinguish different fish. The hagfish relies on these tentacles to approach its prey.
Scientists once used underwater camera technology to study the predation process of deep-sea hagfish.
Scientists have discovered that hagfish are actually the "natural enemy" of sharks.
Fang Youqun said nonchalantly: "Brother Yang, isn't it just a big earthworm? Why should we be so careful?"
"Big earthworm?"
"Huh, do you think sharks are scary?" Xiang Yang asked.
Fang Youqun nodded. "Sharks are the kings of the sea and the most ferocious fish besides killer whales. Of course they are scary."
"Sharks are invincible on the seabed. No matter where they swim, other fish are terrified and flee in panic. But hagfish are the nemesis of sharks. Do you think hagfish are scary or not?" Xiang Yang said.
"What? This thing is the nemesis of sharks? This is impossible." Fang Youqun exclaimed.
"Don't disbelieve it, this is the truth."
Although the hagfish is not as big as a shark, its teeth are not as sharp as a shark, and its strength is far less than that of a shark, the hagfish can use its survival skills to drill into the shark's belly.
Hagfish have a very large appetite. If there is enough food, they can eat fish meat equivalent to twice their own body weight every hour.
Hagfish eat and excrete at the same time, just like silk. Many sharks are killed by hagfish in this way.
After listening to Xiang Yang, Fang Youqun was somewhat doubtful and said, "Brother Yang, according to what you said, isn't this hagfish a parasite?"
"It's more than just a parasite."
Xiang Yang shook his head and continued, "In addition to feeding on small crustaceans and a variety of fish, hagfish also attack all large fish. They are veritable deep-sea ghosts. Biologists call them fish thieves."
Humans once found more than 120 hagfish in the body of a snowfish.
Sometimes, some seafood is made into sashimi, which contains baby hagfish. After being eaten by humans, those baby hagfish will also parasitize the human body.
There was once a wealthy man who loved to eat seafood sashimi. One day he had a severe stomachache and he thought he had appendicitis. After being sent to the hospital for examination, the doctor discovered that there was a hagfish more than half a meter long in his body, which was extremely terrifying.