Hagfish

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{{Taxobox | color = pink | name = Hagfish | image = Pacific_hagfish-300px.jpg | image_caption = Pacific Hagfish resting on bottom
280 m down off Oregon coast | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Chordata | subphylum = Vertebrata | classis = Myxini | ordo = Myxiniformes | familia = Myxinidae | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = Eptatretus
Myxine
Nemamyxine
Neomyxine
Notomyxine
Paramyxine
Quadratus
}}

A hagfish is a marine chordate of the class Myxini, also known as Hyperotreti. Despite their name, there is some debate about whether they are strictly fish, since they belong to a much more primitive lineage than any other fish group. They are long, vermiform, and exude a sticky slime (from which the typical species Myxine glutinosa was named). They tie themselves in knots and scrape the slime off themselves to clean themselves.

Instead of vertically articulating jaws like Gnathostomata (vertebrates with jaws), they have a pair of horizontally moving structures with toothlike projections for pulling off food. They enter both living and dead fish, feeding on the insides. Marine worms are also prey. They tend to be quite common in their range, sometimes becoming a nuisance to fishermen by devouring the catch before it can be pulled to the surface.

Hagfish average about half a metre (18 inches) in length; Eptatretus carlhubbsi is the largest known, with a specimen recorded at 116 cm, while Myxine kuoi and Myxine pequenoi seem to reach no more than 18 cm. An adult hagfish can secrete enough slime to turn a large bucket of water into gel in a matter of minutes.

There has been long discussion in scientific literature about the hagfish being non-vertebrate. Recent molecular biology analyses however (see references) indisputably classify hagfish as a vertebrate.

When hagfish wish to disengage from their current prey, they form a knot with their body and slide it towards the mouth. The knot provides something to press against in order to pull the mouth off. This is a unique trait.

Hagfish are eaten in Japan, and their skin is made into "eel leather" in Korea.

Individual hagfish are hermaphroditic, with both ovaries and testes, but the female gonads remain non-functional until the individual has reached a particular stage in the hagfish lifecycle. Hagfish do not have a larval stage, in contrast to lampreys, which have a long larval phase.

In recent years hagfish have become of special interest for genetic analysis investigating the relationships among chordates. It has also recently been discovered that the mucus excreted by the hagfish is unique in that it includes strong, threadlike fibres similar to spider silk. Research continues into potential uses for this or a similar synthetic gel or of the included fibres. Some possibilities include new biodegradable polymers, space-filling gels, and as a means of stopping blood flow in accident victims and surgery patients.

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Species

About 64 species are known, in 5 genera. A number of the species have only been recently discovered, living at depths of several hundred metres. Some of the species are listed here:

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References

  • {{cite book 
| author = J.M. Jørgensen, J.P. Lomholt, R.E. Weber and H. Malte (eds.)
| title = The biology of hagfishes
| location = London | publisher = Chapman & Hall
| year = 1997
}}
  • {{cite journal 
| author = Delarbre et al
| date = 2002
| title = Complete Mitochondrial DNA of the Hagfish, Eptatretus burgeri: The Comparative Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA Sequences Strongly Supports the Cyclostome Monophyly
| journal = Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
| volume = 22 | issue = 2 | pages = 184-192
}}
  • {{cite journal 
| author = Bondareva and Schmidt
| date = 2003
| title = Early Vertebrate Evolution of the TATA-Binding Protein, TBP
| journal = Molecular Biology and Evolution
| volume = 20 | issue = 11 | pages = 1932-1939
}}
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External link

de:Schleimaale es:Myxinoidea eu:Myxini fr:Myxinidae it:Myxiniformes nl:Slijmprikken no:Slimåler pl:Śluzice pt:Mixina sv:Pirål

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