Atlantic hagfish
📖 Overview
Benthic with reported depths to 782 off Greenland; 960 m in Northwestern Atlantic; and 1,100 m off Norway . 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 (20-25 mm), the horny shell has a cluster of anchor-tipped filaments at each end.
🔬 Taxonomy
🐟 Physical Description
Jawless mouth, single nasal aperture, only a single pair of external gill openings, no operculum or covering fold of skin. Grayish or reddish brown above, either plain. Variations in color correspond to the color of the sea bottom.: eel-like.
🌀 Behaviour
Behavioural data for Atlantic hagfish is currently being reviewed.
🦐 Diet
Diet information for Atlantic hagfish is currently being compiled.
🥚 Reproduction
Copulatory organ absent. The gonads of hagfishes are situated in the peritoneal cavity. The ovary is found in the anterior portion of the gonad, and the testis is found in the posterior part. The animal becomes female if the cranial part of the gonad develops or male if the caudal part undergoes differentiation. If none develops, then the animal becomes sterile. If both anterior and posterior parts develop, then the animal becomes a functional hermaphrodite. However, hermaphroditism being characterised as functional needs to be validated by more reproduction studies . Probably breed throughout the year in deep water .
🌍 Habitat & Distribution
Marine; bathydemersal; non-migratory; depth range 20 - 1200 m , usually 27 - 460 m . Boreal; 2°C - 13°C ; 72°N - 24°N, 89°W - 41°E North Atlantic: Murmansk to the Mediterranean Sea; Greenland to USA.
🌿 Ecology
📐 Morphometrics
🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance
🛡️ Conservation Assessment
📊 Population Risk & Fisheries
🌐 Names & Taxonomy
| Language | Common Names |
|---|---|
| 🇬🇧English | Atlantic hagfish · Borer · Common Hag · Hagfish · Northern Hagfish · Slime Eel |
| 🌍BRE | suzon |
| 🌍CES | sliznatka cizopasná |
| 🌍CYM | Safngrynion · safngrwn |
| 🇩🇰Danish | Almindelig slimål · Slimål |
| 🇩🇪German | Atlantischer Schleimaal · Blindinger · Inger · Nordatlantischer Inger · Schleimaal |
| 🌍ELL | Mittelmeermakrele |
| 🇫🇮Finnish | Limanahkiaiset · Loisankerias · limaaja |
| 🇫🇷French | Myxine · myxine du nord |
| 🇭🇺Hungarian | atlanti-óceáni nyálkahal |
| 🇮🇹Italian | Misqâr mlawwan · Missine |
| 🇳🇱Dutch | Gewone slijmprik · slijmprik |
| 🌍NNO | slimål |
| 🌍NOB | slimål |
| 🇳🇴Norwegian | Slimål |
| 🇵🇱Polish | Sluzica · śluzica pospolita |
| 🇵🇹Portuguese | Enguia de casulo · Enguia-de-casulo |
| 🇷🇺Russian | Атлантическая миксина · Европейская миксина |
| 🌍SLV | Sljepulja |
| 🇪🇸Spanish | Anguila Babosa · Babosa de Mar · Pez Moco · bruja |
| 🇸🇪Swedish | Pirål |
Scientific Synonyms
| Scientific Name | Author | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasterobranchus glutinosus | Linnaeus | 1758 | Synonym |
| Gastrobranchus coecus | Bloch | 1791 | Synonym |
| Myxine glutinosa australis | Putnam | 1874 | Heterotypic |
| Myxine glutinosa limosa | Putnam | 1874 | Heterotypic |
| Myxine glutinosa septentrionalis | Putnam | 1874 | Heterotypic |
| Petromyzon myxine | Walbaum | 1792 | Synonym |
🔍 Similar Species
🗺️ Global Occurrence Map
Occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) — 40 records indexed .
👥 Community & Contribute
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