- Myxine glutinosa
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Myxine glutinosa 
Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Myxini Order: Myxiniformes Family: Myxinidae Genus: Myxine Species: M. glutinosa Binomial name Myxine glutinosa
Linnaeus, 1758Myxine 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.
Contents
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.[1] It is also found in the western Atlantic Ocean from Baffin Island, Canada south to North Carolina.[2] A related species, the Gulf hagfish (Eptatretus springeri), occurs in the Gulf of Mexico.[3]
Description
The Atlantic hagfish may grow up to 2.5 feet (0.76 m) long, with no eyes and no jaws; its star-shaped mouth is surrounded by 6 barbels.[2] There is a single gill slit on each side of the eel-like body.[2] It has a total of 88–102 pores from which it can exude a slimy mucus.[1]
Ecology
Hagfish such as M. glutinosa feed on the carcasses of fishes, which they bore into through any available opening.[1][2]
References
External identifiers for Myxine glutinosa EOL 207930 ITIS 159772 NCBI 7769 WoRMS 101170 Also found in: FishBase - ^ a b c P. J. P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen & E. Tortonese, ed (1984/1986). "Hagfish (Myxine glutinosa)". Fishes of the NE Atlantic and the Mediterranean. http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=fnam&id=945.
- ^ a b c d Michael Filisky & Roger Tory Peterson (1998). "Atlantic Hagfish". Peterson First Guide to Fishes of North America (2nd ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 10. ISBN 9780395911792. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Lr-5YlYlWhkC&pg=PA10.
- ^ Edwin S. Iversen & Renate H. Skinner (2006). "Atlantic hagfish Myxine glutinosa". Dangerous Sea Life of the West Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico: A Guide for Accident Prevention and First Aid. Pineapple Press. p. 72. ISBN 9781561643707. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MqyPjacQHFoC&pg=PA72.
External links
- Hagfish Myxine glutinosa Linnaeus 1758, Fishes of the Gulf of Maine by Henry B. Bigelow and William C. Schroeder
Categories:- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Myxinidae
- Animals described in 1758
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