Snake eels burst through the stomach of predators in bid to escape being eaten alive

Snake eels burst through the stomach of predators in bid to escape being eaten alive

Source: the guardian

6/4/2020

It’s no secret that nature can be brutal and violent, but a new Queensland Museum report on the death of some snake eels reads more like the plot of a horror movie than a scientific paper.

Snake eels are a family of eel species that live most of their lives burrowed in the soft sand on the floor of the ocean.

When eaten alive by predators, they will use their hard pointed tail tip, which is for digging, to burst through the fish’s stomach in a bid to escape digestion.

But unfortunately, this isn’t enough to save them. Unable to burrow through a fish’s hard ribcage, they become trapped and die, their body slowly mummified in the gut cavity of their captor.

“They can be trapped in there for quite a while. Sometimes until that fish is eventually caught and fishermen discover them,” said Jeff Johnson, an ichthyologist at the Queensland Museum who co-authored the paper.

“In one instance we actually found one still alive inside a fish. It was one that I had caught off the beach. I took it home and opened it up and out popped this snake eel writhing around … I was somewhat shocked to say the least.”

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