Eptatretus sunilii, Kerala hagfish

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Eptatretus sunilii George & Bineesh, 2025

Kerala hagfish
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Image of Eptatretus sunilii (Kerala hagfish)
Eptatretus sunilii
Female Picture by Bineesh, K K

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

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); sunilii: Name 'sunilii' in honor of Mr. Sunil Raj, a fisherman from Kollam, Kerala, whose efforts contributed to the deep-sea collection from southwest coast of India (Ref. 133001).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 400 - 600 m (Ref. 133001). Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Indian Ocean: India.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 44.7 cm TL (female)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

This species is distinguished by the following set of characters: Eight-gilled with 3/2 multicusp pattern; eight anterior and posterior unicusps; 42 total cusps; total pores 68-78 (prebranchial 10-12, branchial 7, trunk 41-48 and tail 10-12); brown-colored body; prominent eyespot; VFF inconspicuous (Ref. 133001).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

George, I.E., K.K. Bineesh, E.A. Sharon, R. Bhaskar, M. Hashim and D. Banerjee, 2025. A new species of eight-gilled hagfish (Myxinidae: Eptatretus) off Kerala, Western Indian Ocean. Species 2025 26:e2s1751. (Ref. 133001)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)

Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Home ranges
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genome
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures
References
References

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.7 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (35 of 100). 🛈