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Myxine mcmillanae

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Caribbean hagfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Myxini
Order: Myxiniformes
Family: Myxinidae
Genus: Myxine
Species:
M. mcmillanae
Binomial name
Myxine mcmillanae
Hensley, 1991

Myxine mcmillanae, the Caribbean hagfish, is a species of hagfish.[1] It is a scaleless, eel-like fish found in Caribbean waters that feeds off material from the surface that drifts down. It is rarely seen as it lives in very deep water from 2,300-4,950 ft (700-1,500 m) and likes to burrow into the mud. Their bodies are grey with contrasting white heads. They have seven internal gills connected to a single opening on each side of the body.

Etymology

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The hagfish is named in honor of marine biologist Charmion B. McMillan (b. 1925), of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, for her contributions to the science of hagfish.[2]

References

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  1. ^ McEachran, J.; Fechhelm, J.D. (1998). Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico, Vol. 1: Myxiniformes to Gasterosteiformes. Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-292-75206-1. OCLC 38468784. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  2. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (22 September 2018). "Family MYXINIDAE Rafinesque 1815 (Hagfishes)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 15 July 2024.