About Eptatretus okinoseanus

Eptatretus okinoseanus is a species of hagfish in the family Myxinidae, found in the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean, particularly around Japan. This species is known for its elongated, eel-like body and its ability to produce large amounts of slime as a defense mechanism against predators. As a scavenger, it plays a crucial role in deep-sea ecosystems by feeding on dead or decaying organic matter. Its adaptations to low-oxygen environments and high pressures make it an important species for studying the physiology and ecology of deep-sea organisms.

Animalia (Kingdom); Chordata (Phylum); Vertebrata (Subphylum); Agnatha (Infraphylum); Cyclostomi (Superclass); Myxini (Class); Myxiniformes (Order); Myxinidae (Family); Eptatretinae (Subfamily); Eptatretus (Genus); Eptatretus okinoseanus (Species)

Homea okinoseana Dean, 1904

Gill pouches and gill apertures 8, with the latter arranged in a straight line, loosely spaced. Fused cusps 3/2, total cusps 44-49. Total slime pores 87-97. Eyespots present. Ventral finfold well developed. Caudal finfold well developed only from the tip of the tail dorsally to above origin of cloaca. Body shape (shape guide): eel-like.

Eptatretus: hepta (Gr.), seven; tretos (Gr.), perforated (i.e., with holes), referring to seven gill apertures on what would later be described as Homea banksii (=E. cirrhatus) [range within genus is 6-14 pairs of gill apertures] (See ETYFish); okinoseanus: -anus, Latin adjectival suffix that means, when attached to a name, “belonging to”: Okinose, Honshu Island, Japan, type locality

Northwest Pacific: Taiwan and southern Japan.