Myxine glutinosa explained

Myxine glutinosa, known as the Atlantic hagfish in North America, and often simply as the hagfish in Europe, is a species of jawless fish of the genus Myxine.

Description

The Atlantic hagfish may grow up to 0.75m (02.46feet) long, with no eyes and no jaws; its star-shaped mouth is surrounded by 6 barbels.[1] There is a single gill slit on each side of the eel-like body. It has a total of 88–102 pores from which it can exude a slimy mucus.[2] Hagfish have very flexible bodies which allow them to manipulate themselves into knots. The knots created by the hagfish remove mucous from the body, allow them to escape tight spaces, pull potential prey from burrows, and because they have no opposable jaws it helps create leverage while they eat.[3]

Similar species

A related species, the Gulf hagfish (Eptatretus springeri), occurs in the Gulf of Mexico.[4]

Distribution

The distribution of Myxine glutinosa in the eastern Atlantic Ocean extends from the western Mediterranean Sea and Portugal to the North Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat and the Varanger Fjord. It is also found in the western Atlantic Ocean from Baffin Island, Canada south to North Carolina.

Ecology

Hagfish such as M. glutinosa feed on the carcasses of fishes, which they bore into through any available opening.[2] [1]

References

Haney, W. A., Clark, A. J., & Uyeno, T. A. (2019). Characterization of body knotting behavior used for escape in a diversity of hagfishes. Journal of Zoology. doi: 10.1111/jzo.12752

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Michael Filisky . Peterson First Guide to Fishes of North America . Roger Tory Peterson . . 1998 . 978-0-395-91179-2 . 2nd . 10 . Atlantic Hagfish . https://books.google.com/books?id=Lr-5YlYlWhkC&pg=PA10 . amp.
  2. Web site: 1986 . M.-L. Bauchot . J.-C. Hureau . J. Nielsen . E. Tortonese . Hagfish (Myxine glutinosa) . Fishes of the NE Atlantic and the Mediterranean . P. J. P. Whitehead . 1984.
  3. Haney, W. A., Clark, A. J., & Uyeno, T. A. (2019). Characterization of body knotting behavior used for escape in a diversity of hagfishes. Journal of Zoology. doi: 10.1111/jzo.12752
  4. Book: Edwin S. Iversen . Dangerous Sea Life of the West Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico: A Guide for Accident Prevention and First Aid . Renate H. Skinner . . 2006 . 978-1-56164-370-7 . 72 . Atlantic hagfish Myxine glutinosa . https://books.google.com/books?id=MqyPjacQHFoC&pg=PA72 . amp.