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An emerging fern fiddlehead and an Ecuadorian bromeliad's flower buds are encased in a protective jelly which could serve to discourage the formation of harmful algal or fungal growth.

Parrotfish are not only covered in a layer of mucus, as are all fish; they also use glands in their gills to create mucous cocoons every night and sleep encased in the gooey mucus bubbles which help shield them from parasites and predators.

This white slimy discharge around an elephant seal's nostrils in a remarkable substance that makes it possible for the animal to dive up to 3,000 feet in search of food. 'Pulmonary surfactant' lines the lungs and makes the transition between high-pressure lower depths to the surface possible.

The hedgehog churns up a slippery, foul-smelling froth from its own saliva that it then uses to coat its body in a process called self-anointing. The theory is that the animals do this to deter predators or to mask its scent.

Slime can be almost everything for slugs and snails including protection, communication, transportation, hydration (the slime coating attracts water). Those slime trails you see act as both glue and lubricants and is exuded from a gland in their foot. The mucus protects against abrasion and germs.

The Violet Snail (Janthina janthina) secretes a bubble-filled raft made of mucus to stay afloat at the sea surface. They live their lives floating upside-down in the ocean and use their mobility to hunt jellyfish.

This weeks Big Picture: Slimy Nature

The hedgehog churns up a slippery, foul-smelling froth from its own saliva that it then uses to coat its body in a process called self-anointing. The theory is that the animals do this to deter predators or to mask its scent.

The Violet Snail (Janthina janthina) secretes a bubble-filled raft made of mucus to stay afloat at the sea surface. They live their lives floating upside-down in the ocean and use their mobility to hunt jellyfish.