And then the eel can pull itself in the other direction, and hopefully get a snack out of it.
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The rat king is a creature right out of a horror story, but while rat kings have been described for centuries, it is unclear how many were real. But there are plenty of other animals out there that can get tied in knots, some even tying themselves in knots on purpose! In this video, we look at the good, the bad, and the potentially adorable.
We know about worm kings, or as scientists call them, worm stars, rosettes, medusas, or sunflowers. C. elegans are tiny worms that scientists love to study, and sometimes, when two worms have been infected by bacteria, they can get stuck together at the tips of their tails, forming a sunflower of worm death. Unfortunately, 80% of the time, they cannot escape from this star.
Eels also tie their bodies in knots to become more effective predators. They have a whole encyclopedia of knots to help them hunt and eat, and some use knots as leverage to pull their food out of its hiding spot.
So while rat kings may be a myth, there are plenty of animals that use knots to their advantage! Eels and hagfish both use body knots to their advantage, whether it’s to catch prey or escape predators. Eels have evolved to have more vertebrae in their tails to make knot-tying easier, while hagfish opted for no vertebrae, instead relying on three muscle groups that can bend and twist along different axes. Hagfish also use their knots to remove excess slime, and generally stick to four basic moves: bends, twists, contact, and insertion. Snakes, on the other hand, usually rely on squeezing their prey with their strong muscles, and it’s a bad sign when they tie themselves in knots. Researchers think that hagfish might rely on pre-planned movements to form knots quickly without having to think about it, as they don’t have the brain power to handle the load. Instead of a bacteria, this particular potentially fatal infection called inclusion body disease is caused by a virus, and it affects cells all over the body, including the nervous system. This can lead to disorientation and tying oneself in knots. Interestingly, researchers have observed that snakes can tie themselves in knots even when there is no virus present. This is thought to be due to the microgravity environment messing with their proprioception, their confusion of their own body, or even a calming effect of being held.
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