Martini et at: Population profile of Gulf of Maine Myxine glutinosa 
313 
Table 1 
Morphological measurements for the sample population ofAtantic hagfish, Myxine glutinosa. 
Character 
Mean 
SD 
Range 
%TL' 
SD 
Range 
n 
Total length (mm) 
509 
104 
195-724 
100 
202 
Snout-pcd 2 
135 
27 
54-200 
27.0 
1.6 
24-37 
143 
Prebranchial 
82 
20 
34-130 
17.0 
1.9 
67 
Branchial 
46 
14 
16-75 
9.3 
2.1 
5-21 
67 
Trunk 
311 
72 
107-459 
61.4 
3.8 
42-83 
143 
Tail 
64 
14 
25-106 
12.6 
1.1 
9-17 
143 
Width 
14 
7 
4-35 
2.7 
1.1 
2-6 
91 
Depth (trunk) 
22 
7 
8-35 
4.2 
0.7 
2-7 
87 
Depth (cloaca) 
19 
5 
6-28 
3.7 
0.5 
2-5 
198 
Depth (tail) 
20 
5 
8-30 
4.0 
0.5 
2-5 
97 
Weight (g) 
136 
67 
8-290 
80 
Total cusps 
35 
2 
28-40 
97 
Multicusps 
outer 
2 
0.3 
1-3 
97 
inner 
2 
0.1 
1-2 
97 
Unicusps 
outer 
7 
0.7 
5-9 
97 
inner 
7 
0.7 
6-9 
97 
Total slime pores (left side) 
114 
7 
91-128 
%TL 3 
SD 
Range 
94 
Snout-pcd 
33 
4 
20-45 
29 
3.0 
21-40 
94 
Trunk 
67 
4 
51-77 
59 
2.9 
51-69 
94 
Tail 
13 
2 
8-19 
11 
1.3 
9-15 
94 
1 %TL = Percentage of total length. 
2 pcd = pharyngocutaneous duct. 
3 % TP = Percentage of total slime pore counts. 
and tail regions; n- 67). The snout-pcd measurement 
extends from the tip of the snout to the anterior 
margin of the pharyngocutaneous duct (pcd), the 
trunk continues to the anterior margin of the cloaca, 
and the caudal region extends from that point to the 
tip of the tail. The sum of these measurements is 
equal to the total length. 
For one series of animals, prebranchial and bran- 
chial measurements were taken within the snout- 
pcd length. The prebranchial region extends from the 
tip of the snout caudally to the rostral margin of the 
first gill pouch, the branchial region extends from 
that point to the anterior margin of the pharyn- 
gocutaneous duct. 
Width is the maximum width of the trunk; depth 
(trunk) is the body height, exclusive of fin fold, at 
that site. Cloacal depth, measured at mid-cloaca, 
excludes the dorsal fin fold, whereas tail depth spans 
the entire tail, including dorsal and ventral fin folds. 
Cusp counts (unicusps and multicusps on outer and 
inner rows) were recorded for the left side; then the 
right side was counted to obtain the total cusp count. 
When slime pores were counted, the first two axial 
regions were combined and recorded as the snout- 
pcd count, which corresponds to the prebranchial 
count of Wisner and McMillan (1995). This distinc- 
tion was made to maintain consistency with the 
length data, where prebranchial and branchial 
lengths together constitute the snout-pcd length. 
Reproductive state was determined by visual inspec- 
tion, rather than histological analysis. If present, ova 
were measured and the maximum length recorded. 
Results 
Table 1 summarizes pertinent morphometric data for 
this population of Myxine glu tinosa. Hagfish species 
in general show remarkable variation in number of 
gill pouches. Table 2 presents data on the total num- 
ber of gill pouches in our sample population. The 
range of gill pouch data (range:10-14, n= 94) is 
greater than that reported for M. glutinosa in the 
eastern Atlantic by Fernholm and Hubbs (1981) 
(range: 11-13, n- 8). 
Despite the size of the landings (over 1,400 metric 
tons in 1994 [Kuenstner, 1996]), there are relatively 
few available data concerning the lengths and 
