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Hagfish may eat through their skin

Dining habits of carrion-eating protovertebrates help explain evolution of land-dwellers

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

When Pacific hagfish burrow into a carcass and eat their way out, they may be feeding directly through their gills and skin as well as their guts.

FOOD BY TOUCH Pacific hagfish in a lab tank show off their scaleless skin, which turns out to show signs of the very unfishlike ability to take up nutrients directly.