Hagfish (Myxine glutinosa) is a marine worm like cretaure that feeds on dead or dying fish. The hagfish is found in the North Sea, the Mediterranean, and near the Atlantic Coast of North America. The hagfish can grow to about 18 inches in length. The hagfish has four pairs of barbels. There are no scales. The single narrow fin runs around the rear of the body and halfway along the underside. This unusual fish can tie itself into an overhand knot and then create leverage to tear apart its prey. There is a colored drawing on page 13 of Fishes of Britain and Europe by Nichols and Miller.

The Myxinidae family is a marine family of fish like creatures. They have slit like mouths with barbels. They have poorly developed fins. They could remind one of snakes or large earthworms. The members of this family feed on dead or dying fish. The following hagfish are found near North America:

Black Hagfish - Eptatretus deani - Pacific Coast
Pacific Hagfish - Eptatretus souti - Pacific Coast
Whiteface Hag - Eptatretus cifrons - Pacific Coast
Gulf Hagfish - Eptatretus springer- Gulf Coast
Atlantic Hagfish - Myxine glutinosa - Atlantic Coast

Hagfish (Family Mixinidae) are a group of jawless fish-like creatures with cartilaginous skeletons that are found only in salt water. Hagfish generally have no external eyes, and are considered blind. Hagfish seem to prey on injured fish, and can do considerable damage to fish captured in nets. Some hagfish enter the disabled fish, and eat the fish from the inside out. Hagfish are less than three feet in length, with most hagfish being less than two feet long.

Agnatha Class (or Cyclostomata) contains the lampreys and hagfish. They are characterized by having a sucking mouth and the lack of a lower jawbone. Although most older biology books separate the phylum chordata into five major classes (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals), recent thinking has been to divide the fish group into three separate classes (lamprey, sharks & rays, and normal bony fish).

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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