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); springeri: In honor of American shark biologist Stewart Springer (1906-1991), then with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “who discovered this interesting cyclostome” (See ETYFish).
Eponymy: Stewart ‘Stew’ Springer (1906–1991) was a field naturalist who dropped out of Butler College (1929) but was awarded a baccalaureate by George Washington University (1964), by which time he was world-renowned as an expert on both the taxonomy and [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathydemersal; non-migratory; depth range 400 - 730 m (Ref. 31276). Deep-water
Western Central Atlantic: Northeastern Gulf of Mexico.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 59.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 31276)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Gill apertures 6. Slime pores: prebranchial 16-19; branchial 2-5; trunk 52-57; tail 9-13; total 84-92.
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: of no interest
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 8.2 - 14.6, mean 11.3 °C (based on 64 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00204 (0.00094 - 0.00444), b=2.93 (2.74 - 3.12), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.2 ±0.7 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec assumed to be <100).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100).
