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); fritzi: In honor of Frithjof (Fritz) Ohre, “friend, willing, eager, and industrious volunteer” who helped the authors collect specimens (See ETYFish).
Eponymy: Frithjof ‘Fritz’ Frockney Ohre (1910–2003) was a Californian farmer and amateur ichthyologist. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathydemersal; non-migratory; depth range 18 - 2743 m (Ref. 31276). Deep-water
Eastern Pacific: Guadalupe Island, Mexico.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 59.2 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 31276)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
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 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
