Myxini (hagfishes) >
Myxiniformes (Hagfishes) >
Myxinidae (Hagfishes) > Myxininae
Etymology: Myxine: Ancient Greek word for a slimy fish: myxa, slime; -inus, one who, referring to copious amounts of slime produced by M. glutinosa. (See ETYFish); phantasma: Greek for ghost, referring to its transparent skin, the only species of Myxine known to lack melanin-based pigments. (See ETYFish).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 688 - 815 m (Ref. 123790). Deep-water
Southeast Pacific: Galapagos Is.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 51.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 123790)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
This species is distinguished from all its congeners, except M. debueni, M. fernholmi, M. garmani by having six pairs of gill pouches and a 3/2 multicusp pattern of teeth; differs from these congeners by the number of prebranchial pores 18-24 (vs. 27-29 in M. garmani); trunk pores 64-75 (vs. 76 in M. debueni, 80-83 in M. fernholmi, 52-61 in M. garmani); tail pores 6-10 (vs. 12-13 in M. garmani); total pores 90-106 (vs. 113-121 in M. fernholmi); with two bilaterally symmetrical nasal-sinus papillae in the dorsal surface of the nasal sinus (vs. one single nasal-sinus papilla in M. debueni); a totally unpigmented body, which makes its skin transparent in live specimens, a unique character not described for any other species of Myxine (Ref. 123790).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Mincarone, M.M., D. Plachetzki, C.L. McCord, T.M. Winegard, B. Fernholm, C.J. Gonzalez and D.S. Fudge, 2021. Review of the hagfishes (Myxnidae) from the Galapagos Islands, with descriptions of four new species and their phylogenetic relationships. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 192(2):453-474. (Ref. 123790)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = No PD50 data [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.6 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100).