Hagfish (Myxine glutinosa)

Scientific name: Myxine glutinosa Linnaeus, 1758

Hagfish (Myxine glutinosa)

The Hagfish (Myxine glutinosa) is a marine fish of the family Myxinidae. Native range: North Atlantic, Murmansk to the Mediterranean Sea; Greenland to USA. Absent in eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea. Only hagfish in the Northeast Atlantic.

Biology

Found on muddy bottoms where they hide in the mud. Slime is used for defense. Feeds chiefly on dead and dying fish of varying species by boring into the body and consuming viscera and musculature. Chiefly nocturnal. Its eggs are few in number about 19-30 and large, the horny shell has a cluster of anchor-tipped filaments at each end.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Myxine glutinosa
Family
Myxinidae (Hagfishes)
Order
Myxiniformes (Hagfishes)
Class
Myxini (Hagfishes)
Maximum length
80.0
Common length
40
Depth range
30–1200 m (98–3937 ft)
Environment
Marine; demersal; non-migratory; depth range 30 - 1200 m
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
North Atlantic: Murmansk to the Mediterranean Sea; Greenland to USA. Absent in eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea. Only hagfish in the Northeast Atlantic.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Resilience
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec= 20-30)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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