FERNHOLM and HUBBS: WESTERN ATLANTIC HAGFISHES OF THE GENUS EPTATRETUS 



FIGURE 8.—Eptatretus multidens, holotype (USNM 218401) 



Paratypes: USNM 218404, 1 (655 mm), 12 May 

 1969, Oregon II station 10611, 7°13' N, 52°52' W, 

 depth 770 m; USNM 218403, 1 (473 mm), 19 

 November 1969, Oregon II station 10804, 7°18' N, 

 52°56 ' W, depth 710-630 m; USNM 218402, 1 (377 

 mm), 23 November 1970, Oregon II station 11300, 

 depth 550 m. 



Diagnosis. — A six-gilled Eptatretus with three 

 fused teeth in each row (3/3). Total cusp count 

 52-57. Slime pores 87-91. No middorsal light 

 stripe. 



Description. — This is a large, deep-bodied hagfish. 

 The color of the four preserved specimens varies 

 from pale brown to medium brown. The paler 

 specimens may have been bleached during preser- 

 vation, as the wrinkled tail is much darker along 

 the creases. On the paler specimens the eyespots 

 can barely be discerned, while on the darker ani- 

 mals the light skin overlying the eyes is clearly 

 visible. The holotype appears bleached on the 

 right anterior part of the body which renders the 

 eyespot visible only on the left side. A small ven- 



tral fin fold of noncontrasting brownish color is 

 evident from the middle of the body to the cloaca. 



The tongue muscle overlies the first two or three 

 gill pouches, and the aorta branches at the level of 

 the sixth posteriormost gill pouch. 



When E. multidens is compared with E. spring- 

 eri, noticeable differences in addition to the im- 

 portant pattern of fused teeth are the longer tail 

 and branchial area but shorter prebranchial ofE. 

 multidens. These differences in body proportions 

 are reflected in the higher slime-pore counts in tail 

 and branchial areas and the lower prebranchial 

 counts ofE. multidens. 



If E. multidens is compared with E. minor, to 

 which it may be closely related by having the 

 common pattern of fused teeth, it is found that the 

 differences in body proportions are not pro- 

 nounced. The best definitive characters to sepa- 

 rate these two species seem to be the nonoverlap- 

 ping trunk or total slime-pore count and the more 

 noticeable eyespot in E. multidens. 



Other than E. springeri and E. minor, the only 

 Atlantic Eptatretus with six gills is the probably 

 endemic E. hexatrema from South Africa. This is a 



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