Slime Killer Hagfish Feasts in Rotten Flesh sounds like a B horror movie from the 1950s, but it's totally not: It's the title of this brand-new New Scientist article on hagfish, which might be the grossest, most disgusting-est fish in the ocean.

Some reasons why this is possibly true:

  • "Hagfish are partway between fish and worms," the New Scientist tells us. Ew, worms!
  • It kills its prey by covering it in slime. Ew, slime!
  • Its other name is "the snot-eel." Ew, snot!
  • It eats decaying corpses. Ew, corpses!
  • Not only does it eat with its mouth, but also with its skin. Ew, skin-eaters!
  • Speaking of its mouth: Go over to the New Scientist article and take a gander at its portrait. What is that thing on its face? It looks like someone vajazzled a lady with some type of exotic corn kernel. Ew, vajazzling!
  • "When they come across a big carcass, they burrow into it and then eat it from the inside." Ew, doing that!
  • If you try to eat one, it releases its slime to gag you. "Ew, I can't breathe!" say the fish in the video above, who try to munch on the hagfish and end up with mouths full of slime.
  • Tina Brown is a hagfish. Ew, Tina Brown is a hagfish!

There's actually a Hagfish Day, which this year took place on October 19. Sorry we didn't tell you about it sooner, but we just didn't know. But you could still honor this totally made-for-Halloween creature by dressing up as one, if you haven't chosen a costume yet. Make your slime out of Jell-O, and glue popcorn kernels on the inside of your mouth.

[New Scientist. Image via AP]