1. Jawless fish
Lamprey & Hagfish

2. Hagfish

3. Hagfish Life History Characteristics Morphology
One of the oldest vertebrates still living in deep, marine waters
It is a scavenger and predator of worms
Burrows in soft substrates (ex: sand, mud)
Extant – still living species
One nostril surrounded by barbels
Barbels – whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish
No paired fins
Cartilaginous skeleton
Degenerate eye covered by skin
Several gill slits
Multiple hearts
One heart serves as main pump
Other three serve as accessory pumps

4. Hagfish
Live in cold waters around the world, from shallow to as deep as 5,500 feet
Can go months without food
Can absorb nutrients through skin
Sometimes called ‘slime eels’ but are not eels
Class Agnatha – meaning jawless fish
Have 2 rows of tooth-like structures that they use to burrow into carcasses
While eating carrion or live prey, they tie their tails into knots to generate torque and increase force of their bites
To ward off predators, hagfish produce slime
When harassed, glands lining their bodies secrete stringy protein that, upon contact with seawater, expanding into transparent, sticky substance
Hagfish can fill a 5-gallon bucket with the slime in minutes
Slime gives hagfish a slippery exit when attacked by predators
Hagfish can ”sneeze” out its slime-filled nostril and tie its body into a knot to keep the slime from dripping onto its face
Vancouver Aquarium Hagfish Slime

5. Hagfish Help to clean and recycle dead animals from the seafloor
Hagfish feeding on whale
12% of hagfish species are at an evaluated risk of extinction
Hagfish are threatened from both intentional fishing and unintentional bycatch
Weren’t always fished, but because several more preferable fish species are overfished and hard to catch, fishermen have moved down to catching hagfish
Eddie and the Hagfish

6. Lamprey

7. Lamprey Life History Characteristics Morphology
Freshwater forms spend entire life in this habitat
Some forms hatch and grow in freshwater, migrate to ocean to mature and return to freshwater to spawn
Spawn – mate; reproduce
Long, eel-like, similar to hagfish
Internal skeleton of cartilage, complete braincase and rudimentary true vertebrae
Round, sucker-like mouth has numerous, tooth-like plates
Plates used for grasping prey and then rasping a hole, through which fluids and tissues are sucked

8. Lamprey Live in coastal and freshwater habitats
Found in temperate regions around the world, except Africa
Eel-like, scaleless animals range from about 15 – 100 centimeters long
Well-developed eyes, one or two dorsal fins, a tail fin, a single nostril on top of head and several gill openings on each side of body
Lack bones, jaws and paired fins
Skeleton consist of cartilage
Mouth is a round sucking aperature containing many teeth
Sea Lamprey Breathing
Paddlefish Parasites

9. Lamprey Begin lives as burrowing freshwater larvae
At this stage, toothless, having simple eyes and feed on microorganisms
After several years, they transform into adult and typically move into the sea to begin a parasitic life
Attaching to fish by their mouth and feeding on blood and tissues of host
To reproduce, lampreys return to freshwater, build a nest, then spawn and die
Not all lamprey spend time in the sea
Some are landlocked and remain in freshwater
When an invasive species, it can have a disastrous impact on valuable fishes
Lampreys have long been used to some extent as food; however, they are of no great economic value
"Silent Invaders" Sea Lamprey 2013