Hagfishes are a primitive class of jawless fish called Myxini. They are classified as vertebrates despite lacking a backbone or paired appendages. Hagfishes have a cartilaginous shell that is considered the beginnings of a skull. They are primarily scavengers that consume dead fish and marine worms near the ocean floor. The slime produced by hagfishes when threatened has potential commercial uses, such as in protective clothing and armor, automobile parts, and disposable diapers due to its strength and flexibility. The skins of some hagfish species are used to produce leather goods.

1. -KAVIMUGARAJA,bfsc
Tamilnadu fisheries university
Ponneri.

2. HAGFISH

3. Subphylum : vertebrata(craniata)
 Characters:Vertebrates are further
differentiated from chordates by their
vertebral column, which forms when
their notochord develops into the column
of bony vertebrae separated by discs

4. Superclass:Agnatha
 Jaws are absent.
 Paired fins are generally absent.
 Early species had heavy bony scales and plates in
their skin, but these are not present in living
species.
 In most cases the skeleton is cartilaginous.
 The embryonic notochord persists in the adult.
 Seven or more paired gill pouches are present.

5. Grade:Pteraspidomorphii
 Pteraspidomorphs are among the earliest
known vertebrates. They were jawless and
possessed a massive dermal skeleton. They
are characterized by their dermal head
armor

6. Class:myxini
 Eel-like in shape, hagfishes are scaleless,
soft-skinned creatures with paired thick
barbels on the end of the snout.
 Depending on the species, they grow to
about 40 to 100 cm (16 to 40 inches) long.
 Primitive vertebrates, hagfishes have a tail
fin (but no paired fins) and no jaws or
bones.

7. HAGFISH
 PHYLUM:CHORDATA
 SUBPHYLUM:vertebrata
 CLASS:myxini
Hagfishes are the very primitive
vertebrates
Primarily scavengers they live near the
ocean floor where they consume dead
fish and marine worms.

8.  Hagfishes have no paired appendage or backbone yet
they are considered as vertebrates.they have a
cartilaginous shell upon which is consider this as the
beginnings of the skull
 Hagfishes has no jaws their tongue has two rows of
rasp-like structure that enables them to scrape at
their food
 a row of sensory tentacles surround the hagfish’s
mouth

9.  These fishes are called “knot fish” because they are
able to tie themselves into knots.
 They do this to rid their skin of excess slime and to
gain leverage so they can enter into the anus of the
dead fish upon which the scavenger.

10. Myxiniformes characters:
 All hagfish species have a cartilaginous skeleton with no
vertebrae, true fin rays, paired fins, or scales.
 Body eel like,
 Hagfishes lack jaws, but have two laterally biting dental
plates with keratinous cusps.
 The mouth is an oval slit, with four fleshy barbels, and a
strong tooth on the tongue.

11. Myxinidae characters:
• Degenerate eyes.
• Laterally biting mouth bearing barbels.
• Teeth only on tongue plus one on 'palate'.
• Mucous pores in 2 ventrolateral lines, each line with about 70-
200 glands containing mucous cells and thread cells.

12. Myxine glutinosa
Kingdom : animalia
Phylum : chordata
Class : myxini
Order : myxiniformes
Family : myxinidae
genus : myxine
Species : Myxine glutinosa

13. Myxine character :
 analfin ending posterior to branchial aperture.
 5 to 7 pair of gill pouches.
M.glutinosa character:
 jawless mouth
 No operculum or covering fold of the skin.
 Greyish or reddish brown above

14. Eptatretus stoutii (pacific hagfish)
Kingdom : animalia
Phylum : chordata
Class : myxini
Order : myxiniformes
Family : myxinidae
genus : Eptetretus
Species : E.stoutii

15. Eptatretus character:
 No dorsal fin and anal fin
 One dorsal finfold
 Caudal fin braoad and rounded
 Ventral finfold very low origin posterior to last gill pore.
E.Stoutii character:
 dark brown,tan ,grey,tinted with blue or purple and never
black.
 Rarely with large patches of white.

16. E. cirrhatus (broadgilled hagfish)
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Myxini
Order: Myxiniformes
Family: Myxinidae
Genus: Eptatretus
Species: E. cirrhatus

17. E. deani(Black hagfish)
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Myxini
Order: Myxiniformes
Family: Myxinidae
Genus: Eptatretus
Species: E. deani

18. E. hexatrema(sixgill hagfish)
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Myxini
Order: Myxiniformes
Family: Myxinidae
Genus: Eptatretus
Species: E. hexatrema

19. Economic importance of hagfishes
 AS FOOD:
 Hagfishes are not eaten often however the inshore
hagfish found in the northwest pacific is eaten in japan
 The hagfish is valued as food in korea.
 SKINS:
 Hagfish skin is used in variety of clothing accessories is
usually referred to as eel skin . It produces a particular
durable leather especially suitable for wallets and
belts.

20. HAGFISH SLIME:
When hagfish is threatened it produces a
proten based gelly like slime called mucus.
These mucus are threadlike similar to the
spider silk.
These are in bundles called skeins.
Skeins are tiiner than human hair and
stronger than nylon.

21.  USES OF SLIME:
 Because of the strength,flexibility,and rapid expansion these are
use very potentially.
 These slime are used in protective gear such as safety helmet
and Kevlar vests.
 In automobile industry the slime is used in airbags or to add
lightweight strength and flexibility to the car parts.
 The fabric made from the slime could replace petroleum based
materials and this fabric is eco-friendly.
 they can be used to create hydrogels that could be used to
make disposable diapers.
 Us navy is currently working withbthis slime to create substance
to protect sea divers ans fight fires and even to stop missles