Eptatretus carlhubbsi

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MYXINI	MYXINIFORMES	MYXINIDAE

Scientific Name:	Eptatretus carlhubbsi
Species Authority:	McMillan & Wisner, 1984

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:	2011
Assessor/s:	Mincarone, M.M.
Reviewer/s:	Polidoro, B., Knapp, L. & Carpenter, K.E.
Contributor/s:
Justification: This species is only known from museum specimens reported to be taken from deep waters in the North Pacific. There are no known threats to this species, given its very deep water habitat, therefore it is listed as Least Concern. However, more research is needed on this species population, biology, life history, and potential threats.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is known from North Pacific islands and sea mounts, including Hawaii, Wake, and Tinian (Northern Mariana Islands) (McMillan and Wisner 1984)..
Countries:	Native: Guam; Northern Mariana Islands; United States (Hawaiian Is.)
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Pacific – eastern central; Pacific – western central
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	This species is known only from a few museum specimens.
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This species is located on the slopes, at depths from 481-1,574 m (McMillan and Wisner 1984). It is among the largest species of the hagfish. The gonads of hagfishes are situated in the peritoneal cavity. The ovary is found in the anterior portion of the gonad, and the testis is found in the posterior part. The animal becomes female if the cranial part of the gonad develops or male if the caudal part undergoes differentiation. If none develops, then the animal becomes sterile. If both anterior and posterior parts develop, then the animal becomes a functional hermaphrodite. However, hermaphroditism being characterised as functional needs to be validated by more reproduction studies (Patzner 1998).
Systems:	Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

This species is located on the slopes, at depths from 481-1,574 m (McMillan and Wisner 1984). It is among the largest species of the hagfish.

The gonads of hagfishes are situated in the peritoneal cavity. The ovary is found in the anterior portion of the gonad, and the testis is found in the posterior part. The animal becomes female if the cranial part of the gonad develops or male if the caudal part undergoes differentiation. If none develops, then the animal becomes sterile. If both anterior and posterior parts develop, then the animal becomes a functional hermaphrodite. However, hermaphroditism being characterised as functional needs to be validated by more reproduction studies (Patzner 1998).

Systems:

Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	There is no information on type and scale of threats for this species.

Major Threat(s):

There is no information on type and scale of threats for this species.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	There are no conservation measures in place for this species, but more research needed on species' biology, population size, distribution and fisheries impacts.

Conservation Actions:

There are no conservation measures in place for this species, but more research needed on species' biology, population size, distribution and fisheries impacts.

Citation:	Mincarone, M.M. 2011. Eptatretus carlhubbsi. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 May 2013.
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