The Pacific Hagfish
The pacific hagfish is from the family Myzindae and is a long eel-like fish with paddle like tails that has been alive since the Paleozoic Era, 450 million years ago. This fish has a skeleton made of cartilage, no scales, jaws or a stomach. This fish has eyes that can only detect light, so it uses its keen sense of touch and smell to get around. The mouth of a hagfish is composed with two parallel rows of pointy teeth. This fish lives in depths of 60-3000 feet under the ocean. The average pacific hagfish is 12-18 inches long. This fish is a scavenger that enter the bodies of dead or dying animals by either going through holes like the gills, or by burrowing into the body. It then proceeds to eat the animal from the inside out. The hagfish has many predators like larger invertebrates , fishes, and marine mammals, but they usually don't succeed in feeding in the hagfish because of the hagfish's excellent slime defense. The hagfish releases mucus from its skin when combined with water, expands to up to two liters. This slime clogs the gills of the predator so the predator immediately spits out the hagfish. The female hagfish lays 20-30 eggs per reproductive cycle but as of now there is no known season for reproduction. The hagfish is an awesome and unique fish that is important to the ocean ecosystem and to our earth.
The pacific hagfish is from the family Myzindae and is a long eel-like fish with paddle like tails that has been alive since the Paleozoic Era, 450 million years ago. This fish has a skeleton made of cartilage, no scales, jaws or a stomach. This fish has eyes that can only detect light, so it uses its keen sense of touch and smell to get around. The mouth of a hagfish is composed with two parallel rows of pointy teeth. This fish lives in depths of 60-3000 feet under the ocean. The average pacific hagfish is 12-18 inches long. This fish is a scavenger that enter the bodies of dead or dying animals by either going through holes like the gills, or by burrowing into the body. It then proceeds to eat the animal from the inside out. The hagfish has many predators like larger invertebrates , fishes, and marine mammals, but they usually don't succeed in feeding in the hagfish because of the hagfish's excellent slime defense. The hagfish releases mucus from its skin when combined with water, expands to up to two liters. This slime clogs the gills of the predator so the predator immediately spits out the hagfish. The female hagfish lays 20-30 eggs per reproductive cycle but as of now there is no known season for reproduction. The hagfish is an awesome and unique fish that is important to the ocean ecosystem and to our earth.
Sources
montererybayaquarium.org
dfg.ca.gov
aquarium.org
montererybayaquarium.org
dfg.ca.gov
aquarium.org