Species group · Hagfish
Hagfishes
WAnimals has 2 species of hagfish, in the family Myxinidae.
- 2 species
- 1 family
- 18 countries
- 45 parks
- Weight
- 1.4 kg
- Length
- 35 cm – 80 cm
Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 2.
All 2 species of hagfishes on WAnimals
Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
Conservation status
1 Least Concern1 Data Deficient
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
Where they live
Recorded in 18 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
Where to see them
- Gulf Islands2 species
- Acadia1 species
- Anticosti1 species
- Arrábida1 species
- Assateague Island1 species
- Burren1 species
- Cape Breton Highlands1 species
- Cape Cod1 species
- Channel Islands1 species
- Cíes Islands1 species
- Dorset and East Devon Coast1 species
- Forillon1 species
- Andrea Doriadiving
- Bay of Fundydiving
- Bell Island Wrecksdiving
- Block Island (Mohawk wreck)diving
- Browning Pass (Vancouver Island)diving
- Great Bear Rainforestdiving
Did you know…?
Faced with a threat it releases a secretion that, on contact with water, expands within seconds, turning several litres into a dense gel that clogs the attacker's gills; its fibres are being studied for making technical textiles.
From Hagfish
To rid itself of its own slime and to tear off mouthfuls it ties its body in a knot and runs the knot from head to tail.
From Hagfish
It has no jaws and no true vertebrae, though it does have a skull, and its position in the vertebrate tree makes it a key piece in understanding our own origins.
From Hagfish
A single pinch on the tail of a 45 cm adult triggers the production of 0.9 litres of slime, some seven times the animal's own volume. No other material, biological or synthetic, expands so much in so little time.
From Pacific Hagfish
The slime forms in under half a second: coiled threads unwind and the mucus swells, trapping water and clogging the predator's mouth and gills.
From Pacific Hagfish
It has no jaws: it grips the flesh with rasping plates on its tongue and ties its own body into a knot to pull and tear it free.
From Pacific Hagfish