Myxine mcmillanae
Appearance
Caribbean hagfish | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Infraphylum: | Agnatha |
Class: | Myxini |
Order: | Myxiniformes |
Family: | Myxinidae |
Genus: | Myxine |
Species: | M. mcmillanae
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Binomial name | |
Myxine mcmillanae Hensley, 1991
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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
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
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- Smith, C. Lavett (1997). National Audubon Society Field Guide to Tropical Marine Fishes. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 224. ISBN 0-679-44601-X.
- "Myxine mcmillanae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 16 February 2008.