1. The Jawless Fishes
Class Agnatha

2. • long, eel-like bodies
• lack paired fins
• cartilage endoskeleton
• gill slits with no operculum
(covering)

3. • no jaws
• circular mouths – cannot close
• sharp teeth
• rasping tongue – tears hole in
prey and sucks out blood and
body fluids

4. • less than 50 species
• most primitive fish
• skin sold as “eelskin” leather

5. Examples
Hagfish:
• burrow in mud
• eat worms or scavenge on dead
& dying fish
• have tentacles around their
mouth
• protection = slime

6. Examples
Lampreys:
• usually parasitic
• great sense of smell to find prey
• covered with a poisonous slime
• major problem in
Great Lakes