The most distinctive characters of the slime eel, its eel-like form, snub nose, long dorsal fin, and soft and slimy body.
From Fishes of the Gulf of Maine by Bigelow and Schroeder (1953) online courtesy of MBL/WHOIÂ http://www.gma.org/fogm/Simenchelys_parasiticus.htm
This true slime eel is not the same as hagfish (described in yesterday’s post). Hagfish have since earned the nameslime eel. “Being worthless itself, the hag is an unmitigated nuisance, and a particularly loathsome one owing to its habit of pouring out slime from its mucous sacs in quantity out of all proportion to its small size. One hag, it is said, can easily fill a 2-gallon bucket, nor do we think this any exaggeration.” (1953) Hagfish, thanks to a market in Korea, are no longer worthless.
The Eel
I don’t mind eels
Except as meals.
And the way they feels.
Ogden Nash (1902-1971) Â [photo from US postage stamp]
Good Morning Gloucester 