Myxini (hagfishes) >
Myxiniformes (Hagfishes) >
Myxinidae (Hagfishes) > Eptatretinae
Etymology: 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); luzonicus: -icus (Gr.), belonging to: Luzon Island, Philippines, type locality [replacement name of E. fernholmi McMillan & Wisner 2004, which became a junior homonym of Paramyxine fernholmi Kuo, Huang & Mok 1994 when Paramyxine was subsumed into Eptatretus] (See ETYFish).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathydemersal; non-migratory; depth range 563 - 710 m (Ref. 95645). Deep-water; 7°C - ? (Ref. 95645); 20°N - 5°N, 116°E - 128°E
Western Pacific: known only from the type locality in the Philippines.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 37.3 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 95645); 56.3 cm TL (female)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
This species can be distinguished from its known congeners by the following set of characters: gill pouches 8 pairs; 3-cusp multicusps on the anterior sets and 2-cusp multicusps on the posterior sets of cusps; total cusps 47-51; prebranchial pores 13-15; trunk pores 49-55; total pores 84-88; a single nasal-sinus papilla in the middorsal surface of the nasal sinus (Ref. 95645).
Body shape (shape guide): eel-like; Cross section: oval.
The holotype was collected from the type locality over green muddy bottom at bottom temperature of 6.8°C, surface water temperature 28.3°C (Anonymous, 1910). Additional specimens from the Verde Island Passage were collected at 578 and 710 m, sediment type ranged from mud to sand (Ref. 95645).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Mincarone, M.M. and J.E. McCosker, 2014. Redescription of Eptatretus luzonicus Fernholm et al., 2013, a replacement name for Eptratretus fernholmi McMillan and Wisner, 2004 (Craniata: Myxinidae), based on the discovery of the holotype and additional specimens from the Philippines. pp. 341-349. In Williams, G.C. and T.M. Gosliner, eds. 2014. The Coral Triangle : The 2011 Hearst Biodiverisity Philippine Expedition. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California 94118, USA. (Ref. 95645)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
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