Hagfish: Description, Types, Pictures, & Fun Facts

Hagfish: All You Need To Know

The Hagfish is a carnivorous fish that belongs to the Animalia family, phylum Chordata, class Myxini, order Myxiniformes, and family Myxinidae. The hagfish ranges in size from up to 1.6 to 32 inches in length, and weighs up to 1.8 to 3.1 pounds, with a lifetime of up to 40 years.

Hagfish are saltwater fish that eat bottom-dwelling invertebrates. Hagfish are preyed upon by birds and mammals. Slime on the body is a distinguishing characteristic. Physical characteristics include grey and pink colours, with smooth on the skin.

Hagfish, sometimes known as slimy eels or slime eels, get their names from the slime they create. However, they are not true eels, but rather eel-like fish with jawless mouths, similar to lampreys.

They are the most repulsive animals, but they are necessary for commercial and culinary needs. The habitat of the hagfish includes all of the world’s seas, with every species maintaining its own range.

Five Incredible Hagfish Facts!

1. Although they have primitive vertebrae, these fish are the only vertebrates with a skull but no spinal column.

2. Their skin allows them to absorb nutrition.

3. When they tie themselves in an overhand knot with their slime, they are able to avoid capture.

4. Their slime plugs the gills of aquatic predators, causing them to suffocate and release the hagfish.

5. The hagfish’s flexible skin allows for whole body flexibility, allowing it to tie itself into knots without harming itself.

Hagfish Classification and Scientific Name

Hagfish are classified into six genera and one family (Myxinidae), but they are occasionally divided into two families, one of which is Eptatretidae. A jawless mouth and a cartilaginous cranium with no spinal column are common features in all species.

They are agnathans, or jawless fish, belonging to the Cyclostomata superclass (Agnatha). Their subphylum is Vertebrata, since they have rudimentary vertebrae but no spinal column. Notable genera comprise Paramyxine, Notomyxine, Neomyxine, and Nemamyxine, in addition to Myxini and Eptatretus.

Various Hagfish Species

There are roughly 70-82 species, with the figure shifting depending on the source owing to new species being discovered on a regular basis. The Atlantic hagfish, scientifically known as Myxini glutinosa, is the most researched species. Other species include the Goliath (Eptatretus goliath), the Pacific or California hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii), and the black hagfish (Eptatretus deani).

Hagfish Appearance

All of these fish species have long, thin bodies that are pinkish-grey, blue, or purple in colour and sometimes covered in spots, depending on the species. They all have 100 glands on both sides of their body that create a viscous, sticky slime.

Their weight ranges from 0.85 to 1.4 kg (1.8 to 3.1 lb), and their length ranges from 4cm (1.6in) to 81.28cm (32in), with the average being 50cm (19.7in). There are also more distinguishing features:

• Hagfish are one of the few creatures on the planet that have several hearts. Three auxiliary hearts, no cerebrum or cerebellum, a single nostril, and a cartilaginous skull are among their features.

• A tooth plate that protracts and retracts in place of jaws, two parallel rows of primitive, pointed teeth that are constantly reabsorbed and regrown, a rasping tongue, and a funnel-shaped mouth that moves horizontally.

• Several pairs of tentacles perform mechanosensory and chemosensory functions in various parts of the animal.

• A pigmented area on the rear of the head behind the oral region, under the transparent skin, and in advance of the gill-bearing branchial region, indicating a decreased pair of eyes.

• The lack of paired fins distinguishes these fish from eels, since they only have the caudal (tail) fin.

• Their breathing system is distinct on the inside, with a sinus system that allows the organs to receive blood from veins and other blood vessels.

• They don’t have a stomach, thus the food they eat is contained within a permeable membrane.

The Atlantic hagfish may reach a length of 95 cm, whereas the Goliath Hagfish can reach a length of 127.5 cm. The Goliath hagfish is the biggest species, measuring 127 cm in length (4 ft 2 in).

Myxine kuoi and Myxine pequenoi grow to be 18 cm (7.1 in) long, but other species are just 4 cm long (1.6 in). Eptatretus hagfishes are seven-gilled hagfishes that belong to the genus Eptatretus.

There are two differences between the Atlantic and Pacific hagfish: The Atlantic hagfish contains muscular fibres in its skin and rests in a stretched position, whereas the Pacific hagfish rests in a coiled position.

Hagfish Distribution, Population, and Habitat

These fish can be found in all of the world’s seas, and they all live in cold seawater. Their range, or ocean, varies per species. The Pacific Ocean is home to the Eptatretus genus, with the Far Eastern inshore hagfish (Eptatretus burgeri) inhabiting the Northwest Pacific.

The Myxinidae family lives in all of the world’s seas, while the Eptatretidae family lives in all of the world’s oceans save the North Atlantic.

They live in cold, low waters with a temperature of 15°C and a depth range of 52-5,600ft (15.85-1,800m), but often 4,000ft, burrowing into the ocean floor or dead and dying fish (1,219m).

Hagfish Predators and Prey

Hagfish are parasitic scavengers with a carnivorous diet. They prefer to feed on or parasitize living prey, although if given the chance, they may scavenge on dead or dying species. They utilise their rasping tongues to drag their prey into their jaws during eating.

Hagfish eat bottom-dwelling worms and other invertebrates, as well as whales and fish. They may absorb nutrients via their skin and feed by producing slime.

Hagfish have few marine predators because of their slime, which helps them evade predators, and their propensity to squeeze through holes less than half their body width, which not only helps them dodge predators but also allows them to forage.

The majority of its predators are birds and animals, with humans threatening 20% of the population, according to the IUCN. The total number of hagfish is unknown.

Hagfish Reproduction and Lifespan

Hagfish are a sexually dimorphic species, with females outnumbering males by up to 100:1. Hermaphroditic species exist. Females deposit anywhere from 1 to 30 tough eggs with Velcro-like ends that attach to one other.

Unlike lampreys, the gestation time is approximately 11 months, and there is no larval stage. Due to the difficulties of laboratory breeding, nothing more is known about their reproductive habits. In the wild, they may live up to 40 years, while in captivity they can live up to 17 years.

Hagfish in Fishing and Cooking

Hagfish has a wide range of commercial applications. For starters, they’re popular in Korea and Japan. They are usually skinned before being grilled or stir-fried in Korea, and males perceive them to be an aphrodisiac.

Hagfish is used as a tofu substitute in Japan because of its slime, which can bind a huge volume of liquid with very little heat. Fishermen in California can supply hagfish to curious foodies in the United States.

The flesh of the hagfish is chewy, with a modest yet unique flavour and an unpleasant aftertaste. Cut the chicken along the middle, remove the digestive tube, and marinate it in Korean barbecue sauce.

Cook the raw fish on a hot plate, slicing it with scissors, and serving it with lettuce and gochujang (red chilli paste). The head is usually left on the fish and served to visitors as a token of respect. The fish may also be eaten raw, and they are rather popular in this manner.

Hagfish skin is a tough leather that is used in a variety of apparel accessories such as wallets, belts, and shoes. It’s commonly referred to as “eel skin.”

Hagfish exist at or near the ocean’s deepest depths. As a result, fishing in the presence of hagfish is problematic, as they can ruin or eat prey caught in deep dragnets before they can be pulled to the surface.

Hagfish Slime

Although hagfish create a thick, sticky material known as slime, it is not slime. Instead, it’s characterised by a milky, fibrous mucous. Myxini glutinosa was called after it, with the word “glutinosa” meaning “glutenous or gummy” in Latin.

Hagfish create slime in connection with an overarm knot around head to tail while eating, burrowing, or fleeing from predators. The slime is frequently used in place of egg whites.