Myxine limosa, or Girard's Atlantic hagfish, is a jawless fish in the genus Myxine.[1] [2]
The eellike species grows up to long. The color ranges from reddish brown to dark purple. There are no visible eyes. The mouth is surrounded by 6 barbels, and there are 5 or 6 gill pouches on either side, with one exterior connection.[3]
Myxine glutinosa is grayish pink and grows up to 43cm (17inches) long. North American Eptatretus hagfishes have 5–14 gill pouches, which open independently to the exterior. Petromyzon marinus has 7 pairs of gill pouches, one top nostril, and small visible eyes.
The species was described by Charles Frédéric Girard, a French zoologist, in 1859.[4]
It occurs in the Western Atlantic Ocean, from Baffin Island, Canada, south to North Carolina, at depths of, sometimes venturing into 30-m-shallow water.