Eptatretus eos

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MYXINI	MYXINIFORMES	MYXINIDAE

Scientific Name:	Eptatretus eos
Species Authority:	Fernholm, 1991

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Data Deficient 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 known only from a single specimen in the Tasmanian Sea. More research is needed to determine this species distribution, population, habitat, ecology and any major threats. It is therefore listed as Data Deficient.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is known only from the type locality in the Tasman Sea, west of New Zealand, 39°47.7-50.3'S, 167°15.7-13.5'E.
Countries:	Native: New Zealand
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Pacific – southwest
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Only the holotype is known.
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This species' habitat is probably on hard-coral reef bottoms, at depths from 991-1,013 m (Fernholm 1991, Fernholm and Quattrini 2008). The unique specimen known (665 mm total length (TL)) was collected in the trawl fishery for the holacanthid Hoplostethus atlanticus on Westpack bank, Western Challenger Plateau, Tasman Sea. According to Fernholm (1991), an alert was put out to scientists and fisheries observers in the area to try to acquire more specimens, but after more than one year no additional material was collected. The copulatory organ is absent in this species. 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' habitat is probably on hard-coral reef bottoms, at depths from 991-1,013 m (Fernholm 1991, Fernholm and Quattrini 2008). The unique specimen known (665 mm total length (TL)) was collected in the trawl fishery for the holacanthid Hoplostethus atlanticus on Westpack bank, Western Challenger Plateau, Tasman Sea. According to Fernholm (1991), an alert was put out to scientists and fisheries observers in the area to try to acquire more specimens, but after more than one year no additional material was collected.

The copulatory organ is absent in this species. 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 known on type and scale of threats.

Major Threat(s):

There is no information known on type and scale of threats.

Conservation Actions [top]

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

Conservation Actions:

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

Bibliography [top]

	Fernholm, B. 1991. Eptatretus eos: a new species of hagfish (Myxinidae) from the Tasman Sea. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 38(2): 115-118. Fernholm, B. and Quattrini, A.M. 2008. A new species of hagfish (Myxinidae: Eptatretus) associated with deep-sea coral habitat in the western North Atlantic. Copeia 1: 126-132. IUCN. 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2011.1). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 16 June 2011). Patzner, R.A. 1998. Gonads and reproduction in hagfishes. In: J.M. Jørgensen, J.P. Lomholt, R.E. Weber, and H. Malte (eds), The biology of hagfishes, pp. 378-395. Chapman & Hall, London.

Fernholm, B. 1991. Eptatretus eos: a new species of hagfish (Myxinidae) from the Tasman Sea. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 38(2): 115-118.

Fernholm, B. and Quattrini, A.M. 2008. A new species of hagfish (Myxinidae: Eptatretus) associated with deep-sea coral habitat in the western North Atlantic. Copeia 1: 126-132.

IUCN. 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2011.1). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 16 June 2011).

Patzner, R.A. 1998. Gonads and reproduction in hagfishes. In: J.M. Jørgensen, J.P. Lomholt, R.E. Weber, and H. Malte (eds), The biology of hagfishes, pp. 378-395. Chapman & Hall, London.

Citation:	Mincarone, M.M. 2011. Eptatretus eos. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 22 May 2013.
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