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.”