Author: Linnaeus, 1758
Myxine glutinosa Linnaeus, 1758
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Myxine glutinosa Linnaeus, 1758 (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: 24-33 pairs of slime pores in front of the gill openings, 51-70 between the gill openings and the anus, and 10-13 posterior to the anus, giving a total count of 88-102 slime pores. Total cusp count of teeth 32-36 (Fig. B). Usually six pairs of internal gill pouches. Size: in the eastern Atlantic lengths were reported to be between 600 and 790 mm. Anatomical details are given by Marinelli and Strenger (1956), and systematical information is given by Fernholm (1981).
Habitat: littoral to meso-abyssal (20-600 m) on muddy bottom. In Norwegian fjords reported to occur to 1,100 m. Food: see family. Reproduction: eggs are few in number (19-30) and large (20-25 mm), the horny shell has a cluster of anchor-tipped filaments at each end (Fig. C).
Distribution: Mediterranean Sea around African coast (Dieuzeide, 1956), absent in eastern Mediterranean and Black Seas; Atlantic coast from Portugal to the North Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat and Varanger Fjord; from Davis Strait to Florida (unpublished). Abundant in many areas.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. No larval stages in M. glutinosa; eggs few but large (circa 20 mm) (Schnakenbeck, 1931:1, fig. I | Walvig, 1963, in Brodal and Fange: 546-556, fig. 10-14).