Animal Profiles
Fish

Hagfish

Myxini

Living

Living individuals or members of this group exist today. This does not mean they are safe from extinction.

Hagfishes are jawless marine animals with elongated bodies. This account describes the Atlantic hagfish, a bottom dweller that shelters in mud and produces slime as a defence.

Atlantic hagfish (Myxine glutinosa) photographed out of water.

Atlantic hagfish (Myxine glutinosa) photographed out of water.

Arnstein Rønning · CC BY-SA

At a glance

Location
Myxine glutinosa is the representative used here. It occurs in the North Atlantic and neighbouring seas, often on muddy seabeds where it can hide within soft sediment.
Habitat
Coast, Open ocean
Diet
Carnivore
Food
Atlantic hagfish feed chiefly on dead or dying fishes and are mainly active at night.

Classification

Common name
Hagfish
Browse group
Fish
Scientific name or taxon
Myxini
Taxon rank
class
Source classification
Myxini

Taxonomy checked against GBIF. For breeds and hybrids, this describes the listed parent taxon.

Three things to know

  • It has no hinged jaw.
  • It produces defensive slime.
  • Its eggs have anchoring filaments.

Habitat and range

Myxine glutinosa is the representative used here. It occurs in the North Atlantic and neighbouring seas, often on muddy seabeds where it can hide within soft sediment.

Appearance and adaptations

The eel-like body is greyish or reddish-brown and lacks a hinged jaw. A single nostril lies on the head. One pair of external gill openings helps distinguish this species from some other hagfishes.

Diet and behaviour

Atlantic hagfish feed chiefly on dead or dying fishes and are mainly active at night. Their defensive slime can make them difficult for a predator to handle. Eggs bear anchoring filaments at their ends.

Sources

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