We studied these lovely creatures in our upper-elementary marine biology class last week. Have you ever heard of a hagfish? Hagfish are probably one of God's most unlovely creations. He didn't create them to be pretty though, He created them to keep the oceans clean. And here is how they do it.
Disgusting fact #1: They eat dead stuff.
And, to help them eat the dead stuff, we have disgusting fact #2:
They have these lovely mouths to bore holes into their, ummm . . . meal.
Then they really "dig in" to eat it, as pictured above. Although they prefer dead or decaying organisms, they can attack and then devour live prey from the inside out.
And that brings us to disgusting hagfish fact #3:
They produce slime -- lots of it -- for protection. Who would want to eat that? They also use their slime to suffocate other fish, which they then bore into and devour.
Disgusting hagfish fact #4:
It can tie itself into a knot to clean itself of its own slime. Lovely.
Feel free to share this with your students.