Range and Habitat. Description; Distribution and habitat They are found between the depths of 16 meters to 633 … Learn more about their habitat, ecology, and slime-producing habits! … Along the length of its body, there are not only external gill openings for taking in oxygen, but also slime pores, which secrete copious amounts of slime when the Pacific hagfish is frightened or in danger. Above the mouth there is a nostril with an olfactory sac right behind it, because the hagfish relies heavily on smell to find food. Pacific hagfish trying to hide under a rock. The species Myxine glutinosa was named for this slime. Hagfish live in burrows on the seafloor and locate their food by smelling and feeling as they swim. Tags: Senses. Smithsonian … They have cartilaginous skulls and tooth-like structures composed of keratin. The only fin that the hagfish has is a Caudal fin on the rear end of the organism. Contents. They are more common at shallower depths, from 40 to 100 meters. Pacific hagfish may make small migrations from shallow waters in the fall into deeper water. Email Us, Board of Fisheries and Game: Actions & Activities, Alaska Resources Library and Information Services (ARLIS), About the Division of Commercial Fisheries, Western Alaska Salmon Stock Identification Program (WASSIP), Online General Season & Registration Permits, Subsistence and Personal Use Fishing Permits, CSIS – Community Subsistence Information System, The Technical Papers and Special Publications Series. Pacific Hagfish. The mouth of the hagfish is surrounded by barbels, and the teeth are on the tongue of the fish. The Pacific hagfish occurs in the Eastern North Pacific from Canada to Mexico. Physical Characteristics. Size: They average about 15 inches long, but can reach … The mouth of the hagfish is surrounded by barbels, and the teeth are on the tongue of the fish. Despite their name, there is some debate about … About Pacific Hagfish Eptatretus stoutii. Habitat. Colors depend on the species, ranging from pink to blue-grey, and may have black or yellow spots. Pacific and black hagfish are found in the waters off the coasts of the north Pacific; in Alaska black hagfish are more common than Pacific hagfish in the Inside Waters of southern Southeast Alaska. Coastal Waters Fishes Invertebrates. However, they also eat live prey. When other sea animals go to eat them hey produce the slime. Bottom dwellers, Pacific hagfish are typically inhabits temporary burrows in mud and other soft substrate at depths of 18-900 m (584-2970 ft). They have a relatively short head with a pointed snout and barbels around the single rostrum and mouth. Habitat. The picture above shows various diagrams of the morphology of the Pacific Hagfish. It inhabits fine silt and clay bottoms on the continental shelves and upper slopes at depths from 16–966 metres (52–3,169 ft). The Pacific hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii), a fish that looks similar to an eel, has no jaw and is totally blind. Eptatretus stoutii. They prey on small invertebrates living in the mud; they also scavenge dead and dying fish. Taxonomy Morphology Habitat Diet & Prey Predators Reproductive Strategies Defenses Interactions with Other Species Human Impacts Conservation Efforts Cool Facts Morphology. It produces slime to protect themselves from predators including sharks, big fish and whales. Pacific hagfish are long and tubular in shape, resembling an eel. Physical Characteristics. Eastern Pacific: southeastern Alaska to Bahia San Pablo, central Baja California, Mexico. Hagfish have elongated, eel-like bodies, and paddle-like tails. Pacific Hagfish. They find food, often dead fish, through a specialized sense of smell and, because they can absorb nutrients through their skin, can eat by just burrowing into a dead carcass. They have … Slime. Their ranges overlap, but the species are typically separated by depth where Pacific hagfish tend to be shallower (10-100 fathoms) and black hagfish are found deeper (200-300 fathoms). When … Home / Animals / Pacific Hagfish. Taxonomy Morphology Habitat Diet & Prey Predators Reproductive Strategies Defenses Interactions with Other Species Human Impacts Conservation Efforts Cool Facts Habitat. Pacific Hagfish. Its Amazing Adaptation: The Hagfish’s amazing adaptation is that it produces slime. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. The push water in there stomach organs that creates thick slime. Habitat: Deep sea Adaptation: Produces slime . The species appears to be abundant within its range. Range: Pacific hagfish are found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, along the coast of North America from southern Alaska to Baja, California. Pacific hagfish are found typically on muddy bottoms to depths of 633 meters, but can also be found occasionally on rocky bottoms. Hagfish are long and vermiform, and can exude copious quantities of a milky and fibrous slime or mucus from some 100 glands or invaginations running along their flanks. They are able to excrete prodigious amounts of slime in self-defense. The picture above shows various diagrams of the morphology of the Pacific Hagfish. Shown to the right is a map of the range of the Pacific Hagfish. The resting position of the Pacific hagfish also tends to be coiled, while that of the Atlantic hagfish is stretched. It lives in the mesopelagic to the abyssal Pacific Ocean, and find burrow dens into the ocean floor. Above the mouth there is a nostril … The Pacific hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii) is a species of hagfish.It lives in the mesopelagic to abyssal Pacific ocean, near the ocean floor.It is a jawless fish and has a body plan that resembles early paleozoic fish. They produce slime mostly when stressed. Pacific hagfish are long and tubular in shape, resembling an eel. Habitat: Hagfish live on the floor of the continental shelf, at depths ranging from 52 to 3,000 feet below the surface.They live on mud or rocky substrates. Bottom dwellers, Pacific hagfish are typically inhabits temporary burrows in mud and other soft substrate at depths of 18-900 m (584-2970 ft). Eyes may be vestigial. Habitat. Hagfish are noted for their unusual way of feeding — they slither into dead or dying fishes and eat them from the inside out, using their "rasping tongue" to carry food into their funnel-shaped mouths. They are cartilaginous fish that have a flexible skeleton.