Myxini (hagfishes) >
Myxiniformes (Hagfishes) >
Myxinidae (Hagfishes) > Eptatretinae
Etymology: Eptatretus: hepta (Gr.), seven; tretos (Gr.), perforated (i.e., with holes), referring to seven gill apertures on what would later be described as Homea banksii (=E. cirrhatus) [range within genus is 6-14 pairs of gill apertures] (See ETYFish); cirrhatus: Latin for having tendrils, i.e., presumed to be a species of “lamprey” with barbels (See ETYFish).
More on author: Forster.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathydemersal; non-migratory; depth range 0 - 1100 m (Ref. 89422), usually 40 - 700 m (Ref. 31276). Deep-water
Western Pacific: southern and eastern Australia and New Zealand.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 97.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 101563)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0. This species differs from all its congeners except E. caribbeaus, E. goliath, E. menezesi and E. strahani by having 7 pairs of gill pouches and three-cusp multicusps on the anterior and posterior rows of cusps. It differs from E. caribbeaus in number of anterior unicusps (8-11 vs. 11-13), posterior unicusps (7-9 vs. 10-11), total cusps (43-51 vs. 54-58) and prebranchial pores (16-20 vs. 13-15); from E. goliath in number of anterior unicusps (8-11 vs. 11-13), total cusps (43-51 vs. 54) and trunk pores (46-53 vs. 57-58); from E. menezesi in number of posterior unicusps (7-9 vs. 9-12), total cusps (43-51 vs. 52-60), tail pores (10-14 vs. 14-18); from E. strahani by its number of prebranchial pores (16-20 vs. 13-16) (Ref. 85052).
Occurs on soft bottoms of the continental slope (Ref. 7300). Able to form locally abundant populations and is often associated with inshore reefs (Ref. 85052).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
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 (Ref. 51361 ).
Fernholm, B., 1998. Hagfish systematics. p. 33-44. In J.M. Jørgensen, J.P. Lomholt, R.E. Weber and H. Malte (eds.) The biology of hagfishes. Chapman & Hall, London. 578 p. (Ref. 31276)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
Tools
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 7.8 - 21, mean 12.3 °C (based on 188 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00295 (0.00163 - 0.00535), b=2.95 (2.78 - 3.12), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.0 ±0.00 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec assumed to be <100).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): High vulnerability (59 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 9.68 [2.59, 31.93] mg/100g; Iron = 0.327 [0.115, 0.895] mg/100g; Protein = 2.96 [0.00, 6.83] %; Omega3 = 0.316 [0.118, 0.883] g/100g; Selenium = 16.1 [5.3, 54.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 9.03 [1.76, 45.12] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.249 [0.118, 0.482] mg/100g (wet weight);
