Pacific hagfish | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Myxini |
Order: | Myxiniformes |
Family: | Myxinidae |
Genus: | Eptatretus |
Species: | E. stoutii
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Binomial name | |
Eptatretus stoutii (Lockington, 1878)
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Synonyms[2][3] | |
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The Pacific hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii) is a species of hagfish. It lives in the mesopelagic to abyssal Pacific Ocean, near the ocean floor. It is a jawless fish and has a body plan that resembles early Paleozoic fishes. They can excrete copious amounts of slime in self-defense.