Hagfish are distributed coast-wide from southern Alaska to central Baja California, Mexico. Hagfish live on the sea floor in soft bottom (mud) habitat and are found at depths of 53 to 3,788 feet (16 to 1,155 meters). Hagfish are long and slender achieving lengths up to 32.3 inches (820 millimeters) or more.

Two views of the hagfish (Myxini glutinosa) with analytical overlays and dissection, published 1905. Hagfish are typically about 50 cm (19.7 in) in length. The largest-known species is Eptatretus goliath, with a specimen recorded at 127 cm (4 ft 2 in), while Myxine kuoi and Myxine pequenoi seem to reach no more than 18 cm (7.1 in).

Apr 2, 2025 · Hagfish, also known as slime eels, are eel-shaped, jawless fish belonging to the family Myxinidae of the class Myxini. They are part of the superclass Cyclostomi, which also includes lampreys (another group of jawless fish), and thus are …

Mar 23, 2023 · On the left side of the body, caudal to the caudal-most ductus branchialis efferens, we identified the ductus oesophageocutanei, a structure unique to hagfish (Figure 4b). This duct directly connects the alimentary canal to the exterior of the body at the boundary between the pharynx and intestine and is located only on the left side.

Hagfish are long and eel-like in shape, with a dorsoventrally flattened tail. This means that their tail is narrow on the sides and longer at the top and bottom, almost as if it were squished between a pair of hands on either side. Their skin is very loose, and their skulls are made primarily of cartilage rather than bone.

Schematic of the hagfish gill pouch gross anatomy and fine structure. (A) Water enters the hagfish through the nasopharyngeal duct, and it leaves across the 10 to 13 pairs of gill pouches located...

Schematic frontal section of a gill pouch from the left side of a hagfish shows the path of water flow (black area and white arrows) and blood flow (black arrows). Stippled blood vessels...

Hagfish (Myxinoidea) are a deep-sea taxon of cyclostomes, the extant jawless vertebrates. Many researchers have examined the anatomy and embryology of hagfish to shed light on the early evolution of vertebrates; however, the diver-sity within hagfish is often overlooked. Hagfish have three lineages, Myxini-nae, Eptatretinae, and Rubicundinae.

Download scientific diagram | Hagfi sh specimens and sampling. ( a ) Dorsal view of E. burgeri. A white stripe can be seen on the dorsal side of the trunk. ( b ) Eel traps on the fi shing boat.

Hagfishes have slender eel-like body mea­suring from 45 cm (Myxine) to 1 m (Eptatretus) in length. An inconspicuous continuous medi­an dorsal fin extends over the mid-dorsal region of the body. It runs around the tail and proceeds anteriorly as a ventral fin up to the cloacal opening.