one of the larger species of tarantula , the chaco golden knee ( grammostola pulchripes ) , formerly known by grammostola aureostriata , can be expected to reach between 20 – 22 cm ( 8.5 in ) .

the chaco golden knee tends to be one of the more docile and calm species of tarantula and therefore makes an attractive first pet .

the chaco is an opportunistic burrowing terrestrial tarantula : they tend to burrow while younger and adopt a pre-existing hide as its home when it begins to mature .

it is quite flashy in appearance , bearing long light-colored hairs all over its body and gold stripes on its legs , particularly at the " knees " .

this is a good display species as it often sits in plain view .

when it was first imported into the pet trade , it was thought to be a variant of the pink zebra beauty species , but it is significantly larger and can easily be distinguished by those familiar with both species .

grammostola pulchripes

grammostola pulchripes ( formerly grammostola aureostriata ) is also a good ground - dwelling beginner tarantula .
grammostola pulchripes are also cool and big if you don ' t completely hate the idea of a grammostola sp .
common name : chaco golden knee tarantula scientific name : grammostola pulchripes ( formerly g . aureostriata )
grammostola pulchripes a . k . a chaco golden knee sling . . | my pets | pinterest
tanya higgins added the english common name
chaco tarantula
to
grammostola pulchripes ( simon 1891 )
.
the chaco gold knee ( grammostola pulchripes ) formally ( grammostola aureostriata ) is one of my favorite species and exceedingly docile . never had a
hissy fit
once .
tanya higgins added the english common name
golden knee tarantula
to
grammostola pulchripes ( simon 1891 )
.
tanya higgins added the english common name
chaco golden stripe tarantula
to
grammostola pulchripes ( simon 1891 )
.
tanya higgins added the english common name
chaco golden knee tarantula
to
grammostola pulchripes ( simon 1891 )
.
gabriel , r , 2009 , notes on the taxonomic placement of eurypelma borellii ( simon 1892 ) and grammostola pulchripes simon 1892 ( araneae : theraphosidae ) , exotiske insekter no . 73 . 7 - 13 the species avicularia borelli is moved to the genus grammostola , grammostola auriostriata is the junior synonym of g . pulchripes . ray
the chaco golden knee , grammostola pulchripes , had a different species name a few years ago , which was aureostriata . why the name change ?
so is this saying the g . mollicoma is really a g . pulchripes ?
tarantula mythbuster vid 20 : detailed vid on g . pulchripes ( chaco golden knee )
my grammostola pulchripes ( chaco golden knee ) tarantula . in pre - molt , so her colours aren ' t too showy at the moment , but still an awesome tarantul… | pinteres…
first of all , another tarantula has that name already : h . pulchripes , the golden blue - legged baboon .
what about g . mollicoma ( ausserer , 1875 ) ? wasn ' t g . pulchripes supposed to be synonim for g . mollicoma ?
this molt belonged to my female g . pulchripes , notice that there is a tiny tongue - like flap just between the upper booklungs .
grammostola rosea is the most common first tarantula . this is because it is docile and generally easy to care for . this specie are ground - dwellers .
grammostola pulchripes is definitely not one of the faster growing tarantulas . i don ' t think storm76 was saying they ' re not slow growers , he was saying it won ' t necessarily take 6 - 10 years to mature . 4 years to 6
is still slow , just not g . rosea or some aphonopelma slow .
even if i can ' t acquire a grammostola or brachypelma in exchange . . . . i ' ll be happy knowing my c . darlingi will be in more capable hands .
grammostola rosea are common in most pet stores but i recommend that you buy from breeders or private users of this forum for an example . look for a female in a relative young age .
cheers , does this mean that g . aureostriata is no longer a valid name and that it ' s now pulchripes ? i only have a limited understanding of taxonomy terms .
the chaco golden knee tarantula ( grammostola pulchripes ) , bristling with hair and boasting leg spans of up to 8 inches , may appear formidable , but they are among the calmest spiders in the pet trade . their needs are simple , and they live for a long time - - 15 years or more . bear that in mind before rushing to add one to your menagerie .
for the time being , my main goal is finding someone willing to take my c . darlingi . a trade for either b . albopilosum , b . vagans or g . pulchripes is secondary .
+ 1 for the growing not slow . i ' ve read numerous reports online , in books , and from the pros on here , that g . pulchripes is one of the faster growing tarantulas .
my opinion : a very large , attractive , docile tarantula . they are popular with beginners but often not as readily available as other starter tarantulas such as the mexican red knee and chile rose . they were formally known as grammostola aureostriata .
i have an a adult female g . pulchripes and she now at 6 inch rather that all . i have been used this caresheet as basis on how to care on her . really great job this one helps me a lot : )
nice care sheet . so comprehensive and in - depth . the only thing i ' ve done differently with my g pulchripes is that i gave mine a water dish right from the start . have you written ones for any other species ?
i got one of my new 1 / 4
g . pulchripes slings out to let it walk around on my hand a little bit . almost immediatley i felt pressure and when i went to put it back in the deli cup i realized it was anchored to my finger by it ' s fangs . there was a little pain at the bite location and i think it may have swollen a little bit . i was very surprised that a g . pulchripes sling was my first bite .
g . pulchripes are easy to keep . any random ( appropriately sized ) jar will work for slings . idk if a viv would be ideal , as ime g . pulchripes like it pretty dry . i just use cocofiber substrate , a well ventilated lid and nothin else for my sling . when its bigger i may place it in a decorated tank . unless your home gets below high 60 ' s or 70 degrees ( comfort zone ) no additional heat is needed . see how i house mine here >
grammostola species can be predictable sometimes . one day they can be all sweet and cuddly , and downright evil the next . i think being in post molt is also a factor . give it a few weeks . feed it some more . if her attitude doesnt change , than theres nothing we can do about it .
this species is one of the best species suitable for any beginner tarantula owner . the reason for this statement is because g . pulchripes ( formerly g . aureostriata ) has a very pleasing demeanour . they have a docile , calm and hardy nature which are essential characteristics for a starter tarantula .
hi al , my name is jessica ( as well ) and i am about to receive my grammostola and a l . klugi . i am very excited and will definitely be giving you a shout if i need any advice . but thank you kindly for sharing this awesome care sheet with us ! your knowledge and research is greatly appreciated .
i wouldn ' t bother with the isopods as g . pulchripes are a dry environment species the isopods will just die . also i think a sling would take about 6 - 10 years to mature depending on your feeding ( powerfeeding makes it grow quicker but will reduce its lifespan drastically from what i ' ve read )
it ' s the fastest growing specie in the grammostola genus and it can grow up to be over 20 cm ( 8 inches ) and live up to 5 + years ( male ) or 20 + years ( female ) which is desirable for beginners . it ' s also a very docile tarantula and it rarely flick hairs . you can feed it with crickets , coackroaches etc .
my collection : - support captive breeding 0 . 1 . 0 grammostola rosea 0 . 1 . 0 aphonopelma sp . new river 0 . 0 . 1 ephobopus murinus 0 . 1 . 0 avicularia versicolor 0 . 1 . 0 brachypelma smithi 1 . 0 . 0 brachypelma albopilosum 0 . 0 . 1 haplopelma albostriatum 0 . 0 . 1 lasiodora parahybana 0 . 0 . 1 avicularia avic .
you can feed them with crickets or smaller cockroaches or other insects ( see links below ) . an adult grammostola rosea has a tendency to stop eating for a long period of time so dont freak out if it just suddenly stops eating ! they can grow to be 15 cm ( 6 inches ) and live up to be 5 + years ( male ) or 20 + years ( female ) .
my g . pulchripes 4 . 5 - 5inches hasn ' t been eating for 2 weeks now , i ' m really worried . i haven ' t experience this with my other t ' s . i even think she shrunk : ( she ' s not in pre - molt , her abdomen is not even big yet . reply please , i don ' t know what to do .
and just for the record again , the tend to take some time before they get used to their
new
surroundings . i ' ve tried feeding my g . pulchripes tonight , with no luck . she just moved away from it , so i took the cricket out again and won ' t try before the weekend . she ' s well - fed anyways , so no big deal .
i had a similar experience with an obt . i just realized that it ' s not really necessary . what happens is , you psyche yourself out . . . often for nothing . yes , c . darlingi is fast , especially at this size . and it , like most new worlds , are a bit on the aggressive side . of course , any tarantula in the hobby can be unpredictable . and that includes brachypelma and grammostola species .
chaco golden knee tarantulas can easily be identified by the striking golden stripes on each knee . they can grow leg spans up to 8 inches measured diagonally , which makes them more desirable for beginners . they also are the fastest growing of the grammostola genus and have a lifespan of over 5 years for males and over 15 years for females . and unlike most beginner tarantula species which has very little activity , this specie will keep itself busy . these little critters are mini - bulldozers .
obviously there will be some mechanical damage due to the puncture wound , depending on the size of your tarantula . fortunately , the venom from this specie isnt that potent . i have had a bite from a grammostola rosea ( chillean rose tarantula ) which is closely related to the chaco golden knee . it got swollen , a bit itchy and numb , and it went away within the day . best be careful , theres a very slim chance that you might be allergic to the venom . very rare cases .
thanks . glad you liked it . they dont call it g . auriostriata anymore . now its g . pulchripes . and i believe its the same specie . you see , people who make a business out of selling these pets come up with
marketing
strategies such as making up a completely outrageous names and sell them as a completely
new
or
rare
specie . if youre new to the hobby i suggest learning the binomial names for each specie you encounter . dont be intimidated . make it a hobby to use binomial names . it helps a lot .
and since i ' ll be sticking with these two genus from now on . . . my 5 t wishlist became a whole lot easier . maybe a bit pricier , but oh well . 1 . g . rosea 2 . b . boehmei 3 . g . pulchripes 4 . b . albopilosum 5 . b . vagans so the last 3 are relatively common and inexpensive . if i am to extend my list to 5 more eventually , g . pulchra , b . smithi , b . emilia , b . klaasi and b . auratum are what i ' d be really looking into . - luc
so , i have an emp scorp and want to add a good t to my home . i ' ve settled on getting a g . pulchripes and want to know general advice for sling care . as well , i ' m going to a reptile show in indianapolis to find a good specimen , ( trying to find a cb preferably ) and i want to know what you guys think i should look for / avoid . also , what should i do for heating ? i ' m going to use a custom made glass vivarium i ' m currently building ( pics later ) . thanx all in advance .
hi , i have an emergency question about a t . other than the g . pulchripes . i put in a superworm in my a . seemanni cage and she had a nice little burrow going on . i didn ' t crush the superworms head before i put it in the cage which now was an afterthought . i believe she is in premolt and didn ' t bother to eat it and then the superworm just rolled down the burrow . i need help as far as if i should dig up her cage to get the superworm out before it becomes a beetle and a bigger problem . help please ! ! !
this is where people will tell you to get g . pulchripes , g . rosea , g . pulchra , avic avic , and many many others the h . lividum i have is very fast but it hasn ' t tried to bite yet . all you need to remember is that some t ' s will be good and some t ' s will be nasty , t ' s can be fine one second and flip out the next . if i was to give you a suggestion try to look at a avic , they are arboreal , good size , they might be able for you to get used to the speed of the t .
i ' ve become too afraid of my c . darlingi sling . i should ' ve known i was way over my head when i ordered that . i can ' t even muster the courage to open the kk lid and pick up cricket remains . it ' s that bad . didn ' t get a threat pose yet . . . but i know the chances of it bolting out when i least expect it are pretty high . therefore i ' ve chosen to trade it off for another brachypelma or grammostola . i ' m simply afraid of either killing it by accident while trying to get it back into the enclosure or being bitten and causing harm to the hobby should the incident be reported to the media . i feel so embarassed , but i can ' t help it . . . it ' s dawning upon me now that old world species aren ' t for me . i ' m even thinking of merely
specialising
with the brachypelma and grammostola genus , mostly because of their somewhat docile temperament , slow speed , low toxicity , ease of care and extreme hardiness . surely i can ' t be the only one that feels like this . i ' ve posted an ad in the respective forum . this would be interesting and worthwhile mostly to eastern atlantic canadian members . just let me know i ' m not alone in feeling that old worlds are completely out of my league . - luc
when i first time had my g . pulchripes sling , i put her in a pretty big container ( for her size ) which is 20 x 15 cm , then she looks so stressed out , she always hanging on the top of the cage , i was thinking that the substrate is too wet , but after i change the substrate , there ' s still no much different . at the end i tried to change the cage to a smaller one , just a pretty small plastic container , and guess what . . she looks so calm and never hanging on the top of the container anymore , some people said that a big container will make a ts feel unsafe . guess that it ' s true
2 inches is still considered a sling , 3 inches is considered as a juvenile . it is measured in diagonal leg span . from leg no . 1 on one side to leg no . 4 on the other side . usually for a chaco of that size they eat 3 - 5 days after molting . what are you feeding it ? whats the size of the prey items ? as i have said , chaco and other tarantulas of the grammostola genus sometimes go on fasts which can last from a couple of weeks to over half a year . just keep on offering it food every 3 days . dont disturb it too much . tarantulas who are stressed out will often refuse food . i have noticed that if you handle your tarantula before feeding it , it will refuse the food . it is best not to bother it before feeding it .
so i shouldnt expect him / her to jump at a meal ? as well , i bought a slate rock that makes a pretty nice hide since i read that they prefer rocks due to the fact that burrowing in their natural habitat is typically difficult , so they hide under rocks , i have three containers for three potential size , a pill bottle if i get a sling w nothing but air holes and substrate i will moisten , a small tupperware container with substrate , holes for good ventilation , and a small small bit of cork bark , and then i have a good sized but short plastic kritter keeper on the off hand chance i get a mature g . pulchripes . i was going to get isopods for keeping it all nice and clean . thoughts ? oh , also , that big slate rock is in the container i have if i get an adult .
good day everyone a while back i sold my entire collection and yes i was rather depressed but nothing i could do about it at the time . however , i have recently decided to start up again so i ' m searching for the following : avic avic ( pinktoe ) p . irminia ( suntiger ) t . cupreus ( violet tree spider ) p . fasinata ( sri - laken ornimental ) l . klugi - ( scarlet birdeater ) l . parahybana ( salmon pink ) g . pulchripes ( golden knee ) c . cyaneopub ( green bottle blue ) those are the ones i would like to buy first before i get into the p . metallic and m . bal ect i would ideally prefer spiderlings ( 2 - 3cm ) in size as i have a certain way of raising them ( if you can call it that ) . thanks in advance splurge read more . . .
my collection : - support captive breeding 0 . 0 . 1 haplopelma minax 0 . 0 . 1 haplopelma hainanum 1 . 0 . 1 cyriopagopus schioedtei 0 . 0 . 1 poecilotheria rufilata 0 . 1 . 0 heteroscoda maculata 0 . 1 . 2 haplopelma lividum 0 . 1 . 0 grammostola rosea 0 . 1 . 1 haplopelma longipes 0 . 0 . 1 brachypelma vagans 0 . 0 . 5 aphonopelma iodius 0 . 1 . 0 ornithoctonus aureotibialis / sp ' nakorn ' 0 . 1 . 0 ornithoctonus aureotibialis 0 . 0 . 4 haplopelma albostriatum 0 . 0 . 1 aphonopelma abberans 0 . 0 . 1 ornithoctonus sp ' koh samui ' 0 . 0 . 1 chromatopelma cyaneopubescens 1 . 0 . 0 poecilotheria striata 0 . 0 . 1 chilobrachys dyscolus 0 . 0 . 1 haplopelma schmidti 0 . 0 . 2 yamia sp koh samui 0 . 0 . 1 psalmopeus cambridgei 0 . 0 . 1 chilobrachys sp aladdin 0 . 1 . 0 lampropelma violaceopes 0 . 0 . 1 lampropelma nigerrimum
our privacy / cookie policy contains detailed information about the types of cookies & related technology on our site , and some ways to opt out . by using the site , you agree to the uses of cookies and other technology as outlined in our policy , and to our terms of use .
native to the grasslands of argentina and paraguay , the chaco golden knee tarantula is a ground - living species that burrows when he can . the chaco golden knee ' s natural habitat remains warm throughout the year , with dry spells alternating with periods of heavy rainfall .
tarantulas don’t need enormous tanks , but chaco golden knees are large specimens , so you’ll need a habitat with capacity of at least 15 gallons . they’ll feel more secure with a shelter , such as a large piece of bark or a plastic hut . provide a thick layer , at least 6 inches , of a safe substrate such as coconut fiber or chemical - free potting compost , and a shallow water dish . keep the tank in a warm room and out of direct sunlight ; if the room ' s not warm year - round , you may have to invest in supplemental heat - - but this creature doesn ' t need a particularly warm habitat that would necessitate a heat source , generally .
like other tarantulas , the chaco golden knee subsists on a diet of smaller invertebrates , mostly arthropods , in the wild . feed your captive tarantula crickets , roaches , grasshoppers and similar nontoxic insects . she probably won’t eat that often , about once or twice a week . remove any insect parts afterward . if she hasn’t eaten a prey item after a few hours , she’s not hungry . remove it from the tank and feed her again after a day or so - - unless she starts to molt , in which case don’t feed her anything until the process is over .
keep the substrate fairly dry - - it doesn’t need to be dry as dessicated dust , but don’t let it become soggy , except perhaps under the water bowl . tarantulas produce very little waste and do not appreciate their habitat being disturbed , so limit cleaning out the tank to once or twice a year .
although generally sweet - natured , the chaco golden knee , like many other tarantulas , may flick irritating hairs at people when alarmed . avoid scaring your pet with sudden movements or by picking her up with your bare hands , especially early on . the hairs and venom of this species should cause only minor irritation in most people , but if you are prone to allergies , talk to your doctor before acquiring any tarantula as a pet . never handle or feed your golden knee while she is molting - - your hands or a prey insect could do immense damage at this vulnerable time .
judith willson has been writing since 2009 , specializing in environmental and scientific topics . she has written content for school websites and worked for a glasgow newspaper . willson has a master of arts in english from the university of aberdeen , scotland .
willson , judith .
the needs & habitat of the chaco golden knee tarantula .
animals - urltoken , http : / / animals . urltoken / needs - habitat - chaco - golden - knee - tarantula - 5814 . html . accessed 09 july 2018 .
willson , judith . ( n . d . ) . the needs & habitat of the chaco golden knee tarantula . animals - urltoken . retrieved from http : / / animals . urltoken / needs - habitat - chaco - golden - knee - tarantula - 5814 . html
willson , judith .
the needs & habitat of the chaco golden knee tarantula
accessed july 09 , 2018 . urltoken
note : depending on which text editor you ' re pasting into , you might have to add the italics to the site name .
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1 . 0 transitional / / en
urltoken
if this is your first visit , be sure to check out the faq by clicking the link above . you may have to register before you can post : click the register link above to proceed . to start viewing messages , please register with your real full name as per the rules and regulations , select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below .
hi craig yep that is what it means . the paper is available as a download from the downloads section of this site . ray
. mr gabriel in his paper rejects this synonymy , i . e . treats
spider myths | curious taxonomy | the world spider catalog - theraphosidae
we are all taxonomists .
- judith winston
the laws of biology are written in the language of diversity .
- edward osborne wilson
principle of priority - the oldest fool is always right !
- h . segers & y . samyn
powered by vbulletin® version 4 . 2 . 2 copyright © 2018 vbulletin solutions , inc . all rights reserved .
lightning speed from a big 6
tarantula . you ' re looking at some nice kills , hope you enjoy the video ! music : vivaldi - the four seasons - summer - presto for more tarantula videos you can visit my channel ; )
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd html 4 . 01 transitional / / en
habitat : the climate of paraguay is subtropical . at asunción average temperatures range from about 17°c ( about 63°f ) in july to about 27°c ( about 80°f ) in january . in the chaco and other points to the north temperatures often reach 38°c ( 100°f ) . annual rainfall averages some 1 , 120 mm ( 44 in ) in the asunción area , some 815 mm ( 32 in ) in the gran chaco , and some 1 , 525 mm ( 60 in ) in the eastern forest regions . the chaco has heavy rainfall in the summer and almost no rain in the winter .
temp / humidity : 65 ° - 78 ° / 55 % - 65 % humidity i keep this species temperature at 78 ° degrees and the humidity at 65 % .
substrate : i use four inches of substrate . ( i use a mixture of peat moss , vermiculite , coconut fiber and dirt for firmness , as the substrate ) .
retreat / hide : this is an opportunistic burrower , therefore i placed a bark for a starter burrow hide .
food consumption : i fed the new born spiderling fruit flies , then when they reached 1 / 2
i introduced baby crickets . i feed my adult chaco stripe knee two ( 2 ) one - inch b . dubia roaches or 7 adult crickets weekly . this species is a laid back eater . the only time this tarantula refuses food is when it is near a molt .
water requirements : i keep a water dish in the tank . i have never seen mine drink . i keep the substrate in the terrarium dry .
growth rate : the growth rate of this species is medium . i purchased this tarantula as a juvenile .
adult size : i read that they get seven - eight inches ( 17 . 78 - 20 . 32cm ) . after eight years my chaco has grown to a solid seven inches ( 17 . 78cm ) , easily .
temperament : this is a laid back , easy to handle species . it has never kicked hair at me nor given a threat pose . she is always out in the open and is friendly .
comments : this is one of my favorite tarantulas . she is large and is a beautiful display specimen . the larger it gets , the more colorful it becomes . check the pictures out and the colors . the colors are natural not enhanced . she always accompany me when i do events . this spider has a personality , and i believe it likes attention . every hobbiest must have this species .
all photos on this website are courtesy of mike basic tarantula unless stated otherwise . it ' s prohibited to copy without permission of author .
this site uses cookies . by continuing to use this site , you are agreeing to our use of cookies . learn more .
the review & report forums are closed to new posts . please use our new reviews & reports section to leave reviews & reports . if you do not see a review item for a seller , please contact them and request they create their own review item . if you would like to leave a breeding / bite / sting report , please contact an administrator with the species name that you would like to report and what type of report you would like to leave . we will create an item for you . the seller / buyer / shop inquiries / warnings forum is still open for new posts .
today . unpacking a sling order and they were pretty active and my gf wanted to hold one . next thing i know she is like oh ! ow ! holy _ _ _ _ ! that hurts . ( no i did not step on her foot ! ) this sling is about 1 / 4
and she felt no pain other than the bite , there was no swelling and no redness . medical attention was : i had to give her a hug to make her feel better . symptoms lasted less time than it took her to say
ouch that hurt , get him back in his container
this happened sometime in early december . this t has been finally been proven to be a chaco and i ' m certain it was a bite .
i was putting the chaco back into the container , while i was wearing gloves ( i react to the urticating hairs ) . it had walked on to the back of my right hand . the chaco was three inches at the time . unforunately , even though i was being quite careful , it started to slip a little bit as i was putting it back in it ' s container . it panicked and apparently used it ' s fangs to help hold on .
i was not sure i had been bitten until after i washed my hands and sat back down at the computer . i later pulled out the gloves and examined them for a bite mark . there were two tiny little holes in the gloves . right hand ring finger was bitten . right ring finger turned slightly reddish , and was slightly swollen . i don ' t recall much , if any pain . i did have a strong itching burning sensation however . about an hour or two later i went to bed without any problems . no swelling in the finger the next day , and no burning sensation .
i was rather concerned for a couple of days , about the tarantula having bitten latex but it was ( and is ) fine . so there you go , there ' s my stupid newbie bite experience .
you never know , i have a 7 in . female chaco . have handled her many times and so have my sons , 6 and 12 . i saw her on the screen top of her cage and as usual i took her out . sitting at the computer , all of a sudden i felt some pressure . she had her fangs out , about 1 / 2 in long , and was hanging on with them . not biting but gripping . one fang did lightly pierce skin . if she really wanted to , i would have two large holes in my hand .
my little 2
chaco was my first tarantula , and it had just molted . . . i missed this , but knew it was imminent , so of course i wanted to check in on the spider because i had read somewhere that problems can occur with molting and was way too overconcerned . i saw something crumpled with its legs under it in the corner of the webbed in burrow area and freaked out , so go diving in to discover the old skeleton and brush my hand against the shiny new ultra defensive soft spider in the process . it nailed me on the inside of the left wrist with both fangs , i barely felt the bite , i noticed the venom a few minutes later as the area became warm and itchy . this continued for a half hour or so before being joined by pain in the joints of my wrist and hand , the pain wasn ' t bad , but just kindof there . this lasted about 3 hours with minor swelling , but really wasnt nearly as bad as i had expected .
needless to say , i wont go rushing in with a just molted spider again .
was bitten last night by my sub adult male . my own fault though , he had hooked himself onto my shirt and wouldn ' t let go anymore . trying to get him of resulted in being bitten ( plus getting him loose ) . he didn ' t get a very good grip , only one fang was inserted and it wasn ' t a dry bite ( substance could clearly be seen around the place of insertion ) . had no reaction at all , only that my hands were itchy cause of urticating bristles ( possibly from working inside the aureo ' s exo - terra .
not much to report , but i figured i would anyway cause i did have some symptoms , and i believe any info is useful .
i got a 1 / 2
g . aureostriata today and was handling it to get some pics , and i thought
oh , i think it may have bit me
cause it was so small that i couldnt feel it walking on me , but definitely felt a small prik . well i got it on the third knuckle , no pain , slight local swelling and redness , and ichyness . 15 min after my hand felt a little like it just woke up from being asleep , all tingly , and that went away in 5 min . not bad at all , there really isnt much to expect from a 1 / 2
sling .
sp . , here is a bit of first - hand experience . this is se7en , my new 7 - legged
during se7en ' s initial handling session , i apparently got tagged . . . . . twice ! ! ! ! she must have fanged me during that session , because the itchyness started about an hour afterwords . i didn ' t even notice the two bite marks until the next day , though the webbing between my right middle and ring finger was experiencing small bouts of being itchy as hell . i thought she haired me at first , but the sensation was more like a mild bee sting that would come and go . when i saw the bite marks the next day , that ' s when i put it together that i had been tagged .
second , the bite is nothing to worry about . i didn ' t feel it when it happened ( 2 bites delivered without any indication i had been fanged ) , and the symptoms were
between the time i was bitten , and the time i realized it , i had handled my girl three times , pinch - grabbed her for a ventral shot , and fed her . she has been handled since , and without incident or protest . because of the mild effects of the venom , and the fact that her temperament is really calm , i am not frightened in the least to take another hit from her . love her lots , though ! ! !
i got bit about 3 hours ago by an chaco golden knee . it jumped at me and bit my thumb while i was transferring her to a new enclosure . it only bit me for a second but the pain was real intense . it was burning pretty bad and my whole hand and arm have started cramping . it only got me with one fang since i only see one puncture wound .
registration is free , and dedicated forums exist for the discussion of tarantulas , true spiders , centipedes & scorpions . we also have classifieds , reviews , bite / sting / breeding reports and more ! .
this very popular tarantula has some fantastic qualities . it makes a great display spider because of the beautiful patterns and coloration it sports , it stays out in the open most of the time , and it is one of the more active tarantulas . it is known to move things around and rearrange its habitat , especially as a juvenile . this species is also one of the most docile tarantulas available . its calm demeanor , slower movements , and hardiness make it appealing to beginner and advanced collectors alike .
new world . opportunistic burrower size : 7 - 8” growth rate : medium natural habitat : argentina , paraguay , uraguay housing needs : terrestrial setup with burrow or hide available . temperament : calm and docile .
etudes arachnologiques . 23e mémoire . xxxviii . descriptions d ' espèces et de genres nouveaux de la famille des aviculariidae .
two new species of guyruita guadanucci et al . , 2007 ( araneae , theraphosidae ) from brazil
html public
- / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1 . 0 strict / / en
urltoken
get the facts , not the hype !
visit urltoken stay informed and join the fight to keep your pets ! this is extremely important right now , there are several new laws being passed and many states are jumping on the anti - reptile bandwagon . if you enjoy being able to keep your pets you need to keep up to date on what is going on . you also may be asked to do something as simple as write some letters . we can ' t stress enough how important it is to do this !
copyright © - twin cities reptiles - all rights reserved . proudly presented by , nativ3 , a minneapolis web development agency !
. why the name change ? i couldn ' t find any information on the web , and it just makes no sense . first of all , another tarantula has that name already :
if there are multiple possible names , the oldest one will generally take precedence . it doesn ' t matter if the newer name sounds cooler or has a more descriptive meaning .
only the binomial ( genus + species ) must be unique . you can find lots of examples where the species component of the name is used more than once . ( this is especially common when species are named after people or places . )
eol content is automatically assembled from many different content providers . as a result , from time to time you may find pages on eol that are confusing .
to request an improvement , please leave a comment on the page . thank you !
it is difficult to give a size for the spiders as stock is constantly changing . generally , the small size is a spiderling up to 1 . 5cm body length ( small will be small ) , juvenile is a grown on spiderling with a body length of about 1 . 5cm , medium 2cm to 4cm and a large is 4cm to fully adult ( but a lot depends on the species ! )
if you would like me to measure the body length of any medium or large spider , please send me an email . i cannot measure the body length of small and juvenile size spiders as they are constantly changing .
cockroaches ( species & sizes will vary ) i sometimes only have one species of cockroach av . .
common name : ghost porcelain cockroach scientific name : gyna caffrorum size : vari . .
common name : headlight cockroach scientific name : lucihormetica subcincta size : adult . .
common name : black beauty stick insectscientific name : peruphasma schulteisize : adult / sub - adultstat . .
common name : hissing cockroach scientific name : gromphadorhina species size : adult / s . .
the chaco golden knee tarantula is a ground - living species that burrows where it can . the chaco golden knee’s natural habitat remains warm throughout the year , with dry spells alternating with periods of heavy rainfall .
the chaco golden knee tarantula can be expected to reach between 20–22 cm ( 8 . 5 in ) . it bears long light - colored hairs all over its body and gold stripes on its legs , particularly at the “knees” .
no human is ever known to have died from a tarantula bite ! a tarantula bite is no worse than a bee sting in terms of toxicity .
least concern : the chaco golden knee tarantula is common or abundant and is likely to survive in the wild .
adoption is simple . show how much you care about animals all year round by selecting your favorite animal from our adoption list .
the diet of a tarantula is typically crickets , grass - hoppers , locusts , moths , mealworms , and cockroaches with the occasional small animal . in a zoo environment , they are fed one cricket per week .
every visit to the zoo is a unique experience that awakens your senses . with a buffalo zoo membership you may visit the zoo as often as you like – and your admission is absolutely free .
10 : 00 a . m . - 4 : 00 p . m . ( grounds close at 5 : 00 p . m . ) reptile house is closed until the spring of 2019
this is a care sheet dedicated to the chaco golden knee tarantula , a medium - large sized specie from argentina , paraguay & uraguay . this is also a standard care sheet applicable to most terrestrial tarantula species .
this care sheet is based on books , articles and information that i have gathered and my personal opinion , observations and experiences dealing with this specie . some information may be incorrect or insufficient . this care sheet is , and will always be a work in progress . if the reader finds any misinformation and have any corrections or suggestions , please feel free to leave a comment so i may address your concerns .
it is advisable for 1 st time tarantula keepers to talk to someone who owns tarantulas before getting one . research about the tarantula you want and never hesitate to ask questions .
keeping of this species is fairly easy . spiderlings , or often referred to as
slings
are more suitable for beginners , because slings will almost never bite , the mere size of your hand is enough to intimidate them . by the time your tarantula is juvenile - sized , you will already have an idea of its personality .
if you are getting adult specimen then a female is recommended since they live longer and grow larger than the males . males , after reaching maturity will have the tendencies to turn aggressive and defensive , this is because mature males aim on securing a mate . males will also have about a year or two left to live after reaching maturity .
it is also wise to check the health and temperament of a potential tarantula . adult tarantulas should have abdomens bigger than its carapace or cephalothorax . how it stands or walks will also give you an idea of the tarantula’s health ; healthy tarantulas should stand and walk on the tips of their toes like ballerinas , their abdomens shouldn’t be dragged on the substrate ( ground ) when they walk . looking at the back of the abdomen will also tell you about their temperaments . hair - flickers will have bald spots on their abdomens . this specie rarely flicks . a tarantula’s temperament can be checked by gently touching the back of its abdomen or hind legs with a paintbrush / stick , if it simply walks away , then it can be handled , if it runs away , then it might be a little nervous or skittish so exercise caution if you want to handle this tarantula , if it raises its fangs and its 1 st and 2 nd pairs of legs , then its aggressive . the latter reaction is known as the threat posture , any tarantula that is sporting this position will readily strike . they shouldn’t be handled . if a tarantula turns towards the point where you made contact , it might be hungry or irritated .
sexing tarantulas is a very tricky business . even experts have a hard time sexing a tarantula . a male tarantula could easily be taken for a female if it gets too big .
the best and accurate way to sex your tarantula is to wait until they are fully mature . females can be identified by looking into their molts for their ovaries . female specimens will have a skin - like flap in their sexual opening also called the epigastric furrow , just between the upper booklungs , this is called spermathecae . females will store a male’s sperm in the spermathecae . female tarantulas are bulkier and have larger abdomens compared to the males .
male tarantulas have smaller bodies and the tips of their pedipalps ( short leg - like appendages located next to the fangs ) will look like boxing gloves . also males of this specie will develop tibial hooks or spurs on their 1st legs when they reach maturity ( tibial hooks are not present in some of the species ) . these hooks are used mainly to hold the female’s fangs while mating .
slings can easily be kept in small deli containers . be sure to have air wholes on the sides . the container should be big enough for your sling to walk around but not too big for it to get lost . most tarantulas prefer smaller enclosures . enclosures shouldn’t be too high as this specie lives on the ground . 1inch ( or more ) substrate should be provided . 1 sling per enclosure .
juveniles and adults should be kept in either low tanks or critter keepers or shoebox sized containers . be sure that there are air holes on the sides and on the top . an ideal tank cover would be glass / plexi - glass with air holes on it . for larger tanks , a hide should be provided . emptied coconut shells , hollowed tree barks and other hollowed ornaments will be suitable for the job . at least 3 inches of substrate should be provided for juveniles and 5 inches of substrate for adults ; more is appreciated since this specie likes to dig . do not put more than one tarantula in a single enclosure .
to avoid ants , you can coat the legs of the table where you keep your enclosures or the bottom part of the sides of the enclosures with a generous amount of petroleum gel . just wipe clean and reapply every month or as needed . a swarm of ants can easily kill your tarantula . there are also other methods to avoid ants but from my experience , petroleum gel works best .
1 . feed your tarantula before rehousing or transferring it to a new enclosure . tarantulas will not eat for days when transferred to a new enclosure . they need time to acclimate to the new environment .
2 . do not feed your tarantula for a few days to a week after rehousing or transferring it .
3 . if your tarantula stops being inactive or starts pacing around the enclosure or keeps on sticking to the sides of the enclosure , it is a sign that the tarantula is uncomfortable with the enclosure . you may need to change the whole enclosure or provide it with dryer substrate .
organic potting soil , coconut fibre mulch , peat moss or any combination of 2 or more of these will be ideal . perlyte or vermiculite can optionally be added to help retain humidity .
moist your substrate with water and squeeze out the water , if the substrate holds the shape after its squeezed then it is perfect . never use wood shavings as they are highly abrasive and may contain oils that may be toxic to your tarantula , particularly oils from cedar .
substrate should be replaced twice or thrice a year . to treat substrate , simply pour a generous amount of boiling water on it and let it sit for 10 minutes before draining . another way is to put dampen the substrate and put it in an oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes .
most pet shops sell blocks of substrate . they are simple to use , affordable , and since they are heat treated to compress , they are sterile . all you need to do is soak the blocks in water and wait a few minutes , then break them off and squeeze the water out . if possible , use fresh substrate rather than recycled
treated
substrate .
note : be sure that your substrate can retain water and hold humidity , but be sure your enclosure will not be overly damp as tarantulas don’t like wet substrate .
tip : always have dry substrate handy . if your tarantula is rejecting your substrate , try adding a layer of dry substrate over the damp one .
adult and juveniles will need a hide if they are kept in a larger enclosure . a hollowed bark is perfect since it provides both shelter and climbing spots for your tarantula . for this specie , it is recommended to set the hollowed log horizontally . if flora should be added , use fake ones . real plants will attract mites and other pests . leave the real plants to the hardcore experts . also , do not put too much flora since this will only create hiding spots for the prey . rocks are also optional to add beauty , just be sure that there are no sharp edges . other accessories may be added as décor .
caution : in setting up your enclosure , be sure that everything will stay into place . things that might get knocked down or fall or roll out of place could potentially hurt and kill your tarantula . remember that this specie likes to dig . accessories should be rooted in place .


hagfish , the class myxini ( also known as hyperotreti ) , are eel-shaped , slime-producing marine fish ( occasionally called slime eels ) .

they are the only known living animals that have a skull but no vertebral column , although hagfish do have rudimentary vertebrae .

along with lampreys , hagfish are jawless ; they are the sister group to vertebrates , and living hagfish remain similar to hagfish from around 300 million years ago .

the classification of hagfish had been controversial .

the issue was whether the hagfish was a degenerate type of vertebrate-fish that through evolution had lost its vertebra ( the original scheme ) and was most closely related to lampreys , or whether hagfish represent a stage that precedes the evolution of the vertebral column ( the alternative scheme ) as is the case with lancelets .

recent dna evidence has supported the original scheme .

the original scheme groups hagfish and lampreys together as cyclostomes ( or historically , agnatha ) , as the oldest surviving class of vertebrates alongside gnathostomes ( the now-ubiquitous jawed vertebrates ) .

the alternative scheme proposed that jawed vertebrates are more closely related to lampreys than to hagfish ( i.e. , that vertebrates include lampreys but exclude hagfish ) , and introduces the category craniata to group vertebrates near hagfish .

hagfish

6 . hagfish are ancient . the only known fossil hagfish , which is 330 million years old , looks very similar to modern hagfish .
pacific hagfish hatch into fully functional , small hagfish . there is no parental involvement after egg - laying .
probably diverged from hagfish approximately 530 million years ago . hagfish can go several months without eating . one adult pacific hagfish can fill a seven - liter bucket with slime in minutes .
kogot , a biochemist , displays a sample of synthetic hagfish slime recreated from alpha and gamma proteins of the pacific hagfish .
a mature pacific hagfish female will produce between 20 - 30 eggs per reproductive cycle . there is no known reproductive season or cycle length for hagfish .
the discovery of sophisticated eyes in a fossilized hagfish has dethroned the modern blind hagfish as the only observable so - called intermediate form in eye evolution .
similarly , hagfish slime is not necessarily all about lubrication during knotting . there is evidence that hagfish sometimes actively hunt other fish , and in this case the slime helps the hagfish clog the gills of their prey and kill it .
hagfish are normally deep - sea dwellers , scavenging on—and sometimes living in—dead bodies .
as discussed by hagfish expert dr . douglas fudge , associate professor of integrative biology , university of guelph , in “fun with silly string & hagfish” at urltoken .
use golgi labelling of hagfish retina to investigate the connectivity of different cell classes .
wicht h , northcutt rg . retinofugal and retinopetal projections in the pacific hagfish ,
wicht h , northcutt rg . ontogeny of the head of the pacific hagfish (
hagfish , they say , bite through tough flesh by tying themselves in knots .
hagfish have guts , but they also absorb nutrients through their skin and gills .
of course , in its natural environment on the seafloor , the hagfish has other uses for this secret weapon . ( read seven reasons why hagfish are amazing . )
8 . hagfish can go months without eating . hagfish have slow metabolisms and can survive months between feedings . they can also absorb nutrients across their skin and gills .
controversy has long surrounded the interrelationship between hagfish , lampreys and jawed vertebrates . one view is that hagfish are basal , having diverged before lampreys split from gnathostomes , whereas an alternative view is that hagfish have degenerated from a lamprey - like ancestor , with hagfish and lampreys forming an agnathan clade , the cyclostomes ( round mouths ) (
as for their status as a delicacy , fudge says he’s never tried hagfish meat .
according to thaler , the pacific northwest has a pretty active hagfish fishery . this particular shipment of hagfish was bound for south korea , where they are considered a delicacy .
support for cyclostome monophyly ( i . e . hagfish and lampreys as a clade )
extant hagfish display the vertebrate characteristic of delaminating neural - crest - like cells 142 , but this does not distinguish whether hagfish are basal or a sister group of lampreys .
. first fossil hagfish ( myxinoidea ) : a record from the pennsylvanian of illinois .
pacific hagfish produce large amounts of mucilaginous slime , and can tie and untie knots in their body to evade predators . the primary predators of pacific hagfish are harbor seals (
the idea that some features of hagfish biology are best viewed through the point of view of hagfish feeding makes sense to chris glover at athabasca university in alberta , canada .
pacific hagfish have two pair of primitive , yet effective , rasps on the tongue used primarily for grasping . after establishing a firm hold on a food source , the hagfish ties and unties a knot within its own body to generate a ripping force . pacific hagfish feed on a variety of dead or dying organisms , including fish and mammals , but also probably include marine invertebrates in their diet . male hagfish may eat hagfish eggs .
our studies examining reproductive cycles in hagfish are a good start in our understanding of the growth and reproduction of atlantic hagfish . these data along with future extensive studies on hagfish reproduction are needed in our understanding to prevent the exploitation of the atlantic hagfish off the new england coastline so that the fishery and the resource can be managed for the long term .
the hagfish is preyed upon by some marine mammals and large sea living invertebrates . most animals do however stay away from the hagfish since they risk being suffocated by the slime .
pacific hagfish are crucial for eliminating dead and dying organsims , and the effect of large - scale removal on the ecosystem could be significant as hagfish are important for recycling nutrients .
hagfish slime isn ' t actually slime—it ' s more like a gel made of filaments .
pacific hagfish are not currently exhibited . this information is supplied for use as a reference .
evolutionists have long seen hagfish as a living transitional form in the story of eye evolution .
discovery of complex eyes in an ancient hagfish fossil robs evolutionists of their supposed intermediate form .
now in light of new discoveries in the fossil record , evolutionists must abandon the hagfish as the last living candidate for an intermediate , evolutionary form of eyes . why ? because careful study of fossilized hagfish reveals hagfish once had nicely developed eyes ! evolutionists must regroup and imagine that hagfish and lampreys shared an even more ancient eyeless ancestor for which there is no living or fossil evidence at all . thanks to the vision of ancient hagfish , what evolutionists once thought they could demonstrate using hagfish blindness has changed in the proverbial blink of an eye .
. 4 . ( a ) gonadal developmental stages identified in the medium hagfish ( 35–45 cm ) . ( b ) gonadal developmental stages identified in large hagfish ( 45–55 + cm )
. development of a northwest atlantic hagfish fishery . a final report national marine fisheries service .
the idea suggests that body knotting is no mere hagfish party trick . instead , the ability to tie itself in knots is a vital component of the hagfish ' s feeding behaviour .
) . first fossil hagfish ( myxinoidea ) – a record from the pennsylvanian of illinois .
their bodies , too , are simple , resembling tubes . hagfish are also largely blind .
recent studies on estimates of population density of atlantic hagfish indicate that hagfish populations are high in certain areas in the gulf of maine . however , a decline in abundance and a decrease in catch per unit effort with intense fishing activity has been reported for pacific hagfish ( eptatretids ) off the coast of california and for atlantic hagfish within the gulf of maine . thus , there is an urgent need for basic research on the reproductive biology and ecology of hagfish .
hagfish are not easily eaten or attacked by other animals . this is because the hagfish secretes a sticky slime that stops the predator in catching the hagfish and consuming it . the sticky slime is called as mucus which reacts with water to form a micro fibrous slime . this makes the hagfish body to be slippery and it also confuses the predator . by making themselves into a knot position the hagfish get rid of their slime and then return back to their original position
the most common species of hagfish is myxine glutinosa , but there are about 60 identified species , including the pacific hagfish , eptatretus stoutii , which is also known as the slime eel .
interpretation of the molecular–genetic differences will be greatly assisted once the entire genome of a hagfish is available . in the meantime , the identification of hagfish opsin genes might resolve the phylogenetic positioning .
, with the exception that the hagfish eye is arranged bilaterally . behaviourally , the hagfish seems to be almost blind , and its weak response to light is unaffected by removal of its eyes
little is known about hagfish embryology or juvenile hagfish due to the remarkably low numbers of hagfish embryos available for study . no fertilized hagfish embryos of eptatretus have been collected for study since 1905 ( gorbman , 1997 ) . developing eggs in their natural environment have never been observed ( gorbman , 1997 ) . in addition , there is little known about how the hagfish feed , grow , or sexually mature ( martini , 1998 ) . due to these and other factors , it is imperative that further research be conducted to understand the basic reproduction and ecology of hagfish .
currently , there are no regulations governing the harvesting of hagfish on the east coast . since there is little or no information on age determination , age and time of reproduction , seasonality of reproduction and growth of atlantic hagfish , the level at which a sustainable fisheries for this species can be maintained is unknown . in order for fisheries management to manage its hagfish stocks and develop a sustainable commercial hagfish fishery , an information base is needed for optimum use of the hagfish resource .
hagfish - it would probably scare people off a little bit !
laughs tim winegard .
south koreans drink in front of hagfish before it is broiled at a seafood restaurant in seoul .
so what happens to the sea if there are too few hagfish ? no one is sure .
forster , m . e . ( 1990 ) confirmation of the low metabolic rate of hagfish .
mallatt , j . and paulsen , c . ( 1986 ) gill ultrastructure of the pacific hagfish
the hagfish is a jawless fish . modern hagfish are blind , and their eyes are missing so many parts that they hardly qualify as eyes . but ancient hagfish , scientists recently learned , had complex eyes like a lamprey’s . this discovery means that hagfish can no longer be used as an example of an intermediate evolutionary step in eye evolution . image by pbsouthwood , via wikimedia commons .
holmberg k , öhman p . fine structure of retinal synaptic organelles in lamprey and hagfish photoreceptors .
the metabolism of the hagfish is remarkably slow and up to seven months can pass between meals .
“ atlantic hagfish ” , sea and sky . retrieved on 2008 - 03 - 28 . urltoken
chapter 2 . reproductive neuroanatomy and gnrh in the primitive vertebrate order myxiniformes ( hagfish spp . )
immunohistochemical detection of gonadotropin - like material in the pituitary of brown hagfish ( param . . .
morphology and kinematics of feeding in hagfish : possible functional advantages of jaws . - pubmed - ncbi
evidence supporting the presence of gth in the hagfish is not conclusive . matty et al . ( 1976 ) identified only limited abnormalities in the testes and ovaries of 150 hypophysectomized hagfish during a 7 month study . gametogenesis appeared to be unaffected by hypophysectomy suggesting that the hagfish gonad was independent of hypophysial gonadotropic control . however , patzner and ichikawa ( 1977 ) observed a decrease in the number of follicles containing spermatocytes and only a few follicles containing spermatides in hypophysectomized hagfish when compared to sham operated hagfish . these results suggested that the development of the hagfish gonad was under hypophysial gonadotropic control .
once a month for 18 months , 200 - 300 hagfish will be caught off the new england coast . total length , body weight , egg size and gonadal weight of hagfish will be recorded . forty hagfish will be subsampled for brains and gonads . gonads will be prepared for histological evaluation .
currently , there are no regulations governing the harvesting of hagfish on the east coast . a decline in abundance and a decrease in catch per unit effort with intense fishing activity has been reported for pacific hagfish ( eptatretids ) off the coast of california and for atlantic hagfish within the gulf of maine . since there is little or no information on age determination , age and time of reproduction , seasonality of reproduction and growth of atlantic hagfish , the level at which a sustainable fisheries for this species can be maintained is unknown . in order for fisheries management to manage its hagfish stocks and develop a sustainable commercial hagfish fishery , an information base is needed for optimum use of the hagfish resource .
. thus , the hagfish ‘eye’ seems not to subserve vision ; instead , it seems more likely to function as a circadian organ , similar to the gnathostome pineal complex ( which hagfish lack ) .
here at benthic labs , we are hagfish crazy ! there aren’t many like us as hagfish are widely considered to be the most disgusting animals on earth . don’t believe us ? see for yourself !
hagfish feed on other fishes that are living as well as death fishes . the feeding of hagfish is quite different from other types of creatures . the hagfish enters the fish body through the mouth , gills or anus and start eating the prey after feeding they exit the corpse . this different eating habit hagfish can live for months without feeding . they also prey on small fish , crabs , and shrimps . the hagfish eat only the soft parts of the prey and leaves the bones and skin .
an east coast fishery for atlantic hagfish , myxine glutinosa , started in 1992 . the landings for hagfish off the coast of maine and massachusetts have ranged from one to three million pounds each year during 1996 - 1999 . however , there is little known about reproduction and the reproductive success in hagfish .
a hagfish has no jaws , and its slime serves as a valuable form of self - defence .
but despite their small size , a single hagfish has hundreds of kilometres of slime thread inside it .
instead , scientists hope to make proteins like the ones found in hagfish slime artificially in the lab .
no - one has made a spool of hagfish thread yet , but scientists are working on it .
, has been tentatively included with the hagfish , but lacks the distinctive tentacles of all other species .
“hagfish are slime - spewing monsters ! that ' s part of what makes them so wonderful . ”
scientists and some fishermen fear that , without solving the mystery of hagfish reproduction , the us and other countries could unwittingly follow korea and japan in blotting out their hagfish populations . ( there’s some concern that this already might be underway in new england , where hagfish catches collapsed after their 2000 peak . )
for these hagfish in oregon , though , it looks like they’ve hit the end of the road .
hannah waters , “14 fun facts about hagfish , ” smithsonian , october 17 , 2012 , urltoken .
in asia , over fishing has led to a significant decrease in the local hagfish population and asian fisheries have therefore begun to show an interest in the hagfish populations in the atlantic . while this might be beneficial for local economies along the atlantic coasts , it could also pose a threat to the atlantic hagfish population . care and caution must be exercised unless we wish to see the atlantic hagfish population go the same way as the asian one . as mentioned above , studies indicate that the hagfish female only produces a low number of eggs each breeding period and hagfish are therefore extra sensitive to over - fishing .
estimated life span of pacific hagfish in the wild is 40 years , and 17 years in captivity .
biologists have known for decades that hagfish will sometimes tie their long rope - like body into a knot . an illustration of a knotted hagfish even made it onto the cover of scientific american in 1966 .
this developmental progression is explained most parsimoniously if we assume that lampreys inherited their eyes from an ancestor that they had in common with hagfish , and that this hagfish - like larval eye is present in the larva but transforms to a vertebrate - like eye in the adult , and thus that lampreys arose from a hagfish - like ancestor . alternatively , it is possible that extant hagfish correspond to an arrested form of lamprey development , and that hagfish are effectively a neotenous sister group to lampreys ( box 1 ) .
when studied , hagfish females have produce up to 30 yolky one inch long eggs with tough shells . if this low number is true for all hagfish , it means that it might take a long time for a hagfish population to recover when harmed , e . g . by over - fishing or pollution .
in most parts of the world hagfish is viewed as a useless by - catch , but there are a few countries in south east asia where hagfish is appreciated on the dinner table . nearly 5 million pounds ( 2 268 000 kg ) of hagfish meat is for instance consumed in south korea each year .
author’s note : october 15 th is hagfish day , a holiday created by urltoken to remind people that even the ugliest creatures need our conservation efforts . whether you decide that the best way to celebrate hagfish day is by eating a hagfish or by not eating one is up to you . i won’t judge .
we know very little about hagfish reproduction , and no - one has ever gotten hagfish to breed in captivity - amazing as that sounds ,
says douglas fudge , who heads the guelph research project .
other examples of simplicity are : that the semicircular canals of the labyrinth number just one in hagfish , but two in lampreys and three in jawed vertebrates 140 , and that the hagfish heart is not innervated .
that ' s right — a new study has shown that hagfish can absorb nutrients through their skin and gills . and once inside a carcass , the hagfish is surrounded by a high concentration of dissolved nutrients .
other members of the team are trying to make threads using genetically engineered bacteria , bypassing the hagfish entirely .
professor collin said the researchers studied a very primitive fish , the hagfish , to discover the missing link .
while the recent hagfish slime ordeal may seem surreal to the average bystander , thaler wasn’t all that fazed .
hagfish do not have a larval stage , in contrast to lampreys , which have a long larval phase .
hagfish secrete their mucus from lines of slime glands that run the length of their body . “there’s really no place where you can bite a hagfish without having slime come shooting out at you , ” fudge says .
fernholm , b . and holmberg , k . ( 1975 ) the eyes in three genera of hagfish (
view image of an inshore hagfish ( eptatretus burgeri ) ( credit : nature production / naturepl . com )
view image of a pacific hagfish ( eptatretus stoutii ) ( credit : brandon cole / naturepl . com )
view image of an atlantic hagfish ( myxine glutinosa ) ( credit : florian graner / naturepl . com )
but first , the experts need to work out how to increase the slime production . it ' s unlikely that we will ever see massive hagfish farms . hagfish don ' t seem to respond well in these conditions .
correction : this story initially identified hagfish as invertebrates because they don’t have vertebrae . verge commenter bennyfactor pointed out that hagfish are in fact considered “odd” or “degenerate” vertebrates . he’s correct , and the story has been updated .
the hagfish needs the salinity in its habitat to be stable , because these fishes have virtually no osmoregulation and are therefore highly vulnerable to salinity changes . the hagfish is the only known vertebrate with body fluids isosomotic with seawater . this means that the body fluids of the hagfish have the same total osmotic pressure or osmolality as seawater .
, but because of their slow metabolism , hagfish may go for up to seven months without eating any food .
1 . hagfish are scaleless with soft skin . the skin of the hagfish has been described as covering its body like a loosely fitting sock . colors vary with the species , and range from pink to blue - gray .
extant hagfish are placed in the family myxinidae within the order myxiniformes ( hyperotreti ) and subphylum or class myxini .
john bocskay , “the good , the bad , and the hagfish , ” sweet pickles and corn , urltoken .
prediction 1 : the phototransduction cascade components of tunicate ocelli should be homologous with those of hagfish and lamprey photoreceptors .
identify the g protein of ciona intestinalis photoreceptors and compare it with those of hagfish , lampreys and jawed vertebrates .
measure the electrical light responses and light adaptation of hagfish photoreceptors , and compare these with cone and rod responses .
ota kg , kuraku s , kuratani s . hagfish embryology with reference to the evolution of the neural crest .
this study presented a remarkable breakthrough in the investigation of hagfish embryology that provided unequivocal evidence for neural crest cells .
bullock th , moore jk , fields rd . evolution of myelin sheaths : both lamprey and hagfish lack myelin .
more than 99 % of living vertebrates possess opposable jaws ,
says clark . but hagfish do not .
view image of some of the slime from a pacific hagfish ( credit : brandon cole / naturepl . com )
gross as the goo may be , the highway hagfish catastrophe highlights a nagging problem . hagfish serve an important ecological role : by gnawing apart animal carcasses like dead whales , hagfish are crucial to keeping sea floors clean and ocean ecosystems in balance . so we want to make sure to keep them around . there’s just one problem . much about hagfish existence mystifies scientists—and has for centuries , making it hard to know whether their numbers are shrinking . and that happens to explain why 7 , 500 pounds of oregonian hagfish came to be cruising down highway 101 last week .
us fishermen used to freeze their hagfish catches at sea before shipping them across the pacific . but as asian hagfish populations have dwindled into nothingness , koreans will pay a lot more for live hagfish that can be grilled fresh on demand . so pacific northwest fishermen have taken to capturing , and transporting , their slimy quarry to port alive ( pdf , p . 7 ) . though volumes are still relatively small , the returns on hagfish landing have climbed steadily .
hagfish are found in temperate seas in both hemispheres , but hagfish has not been found in the red sea . a majority of the species live in rather cold environments where the water is at least 20 meters ( 66 feet ) deep . when hagfish live in warmer parts of the world , they are normally only found in really deep waters . hagfish can survive at remarkable depths and have been found 1700 metres ( 5600 feet ) down into the ocean .
hagfish are referred to as “living fossils” as they strongly resemble fossils of their 300 million year old ancestors . this does not mean that hagfish have stopped evolving , rather that their body plan and strategy is still very successful today .
hagfish appear to have branched off from the chordates before the vertebral column appeared ( lee 2002 ) . a single fossil of hagfish shows that there has been little evolutionary change in the last 300 million years ( marshall 2001 ) . there have been claims that the hagfish eye is significant to the evolution of more complex eyes ( uq 2003 ) .
the inshore hagfish , eptatretus burge , is listed on the iucn red list as near threatened . this hagfish species is commonly found in the western north pacific off the coasts of southern japan , south korea , northern , and northwestern taiwan . in these geographic locations hagfish is a native ( endemic ) species . they are very heavily fished in the china sea for their skin and for food . approximately five million pounds of hagfish meat is eaten yearly in korea .
another hagfish species that may occur in california is the black hagfish ( eptatretus deani ) ; it is found in deeper water , is darker in coloration ( purplish black ) , and has a shorter head in proportion to the body .
an adult hagfish can secrete enough slime to turn a large bucket of water into gel in a matter of minutes .
frank , t . 2004 . disgusting hagfish and magnificent sharks . noaa ocean explorer . retrieved may 31 , 2008 .
while the recent hagfish slime ordeal may seem surreal to the average bystander , thaler wasn ' t all that fazed .
munz , f . w . and morris , r . w . ( 1965 ) metabolic rate of the hagfish ,
some living hagfish have light - detecting , pigmented eyespots , but they do not have the equipment to resolve images .
it is possible that the role of ‘long - branch attractions’ might have been underestimated in previous molecular phylogenies of hagfish .
there is insufficient evidence to determine whether the hagfish eye has degenerated from a lamprey - like ancestor or is basal .
delarbre c , gallut c , barriel v , janvier p , gachelin g . complete mitochondrial dna of the hagfish ,
hagfish reproduction is poorly understood , but evidence has been found indicating sequential hermaphroditic periods thought to arise from population pressures .
hagfish are often called “slime eels” . however they are in the class agnatha along with lampreys . this class of animals incorporates jawless fish . there are 76 species of hagfish the world over and approximately 100 species in the class agnatha .
very little is known about hagfish reproduction . only one of the 76 species has been successfully bred in captivity . hagfish are thought to be hermaphroditic with a sex ratio of 100 : 1 in favour of females observed in many species .
view image of hagfish are some of the most unusual fish alive ( credit : visuals unlimited / naturepl . com )
other pressures might have led hagfish to lose their backbone - like structures , says barley .
predation springs to mind . to escape predators , hagfish have become adept burrowers and display unusual anti - predator ' coiling ' behaviour .
coiled like sleeping snakes in the bottom of live tanks at carvalho ' s waterfront dock , the hagfish are peaceful .
atlantic hagfish are considered an important species in the gulf of maine for the following reasons as summarized by martini et al . ( 1997 ) : 1 ) hagfish play a significant role in the benthic ecosystem throughout the gulf of maine ; 2 ) hagfish have both important direct and indirect effects on commercial fisheries in the gulf of maine , and 3 ) atlantic hagfish are targeted by american and canadian fishermen to meet the south korean demand for “eelskin” used to manufacture leather goods .
hagfish have no jaws . in fact , hagfish are in a very primitive division within the entire chordate classification scheme . while they have a skull , they have no vertebral column . recent literature suggests that hagfish might rather be classified as non - vertebrates . while chordates , they are often put into the sub - phylum craniata . despite the classification , and where scientists place them , hagfish are remarkable aquatic animals . in total there are about 60 species in 5 genera .
if hagfish did once have a primitive spine - like structure , they must have lost it a very long time ago . in 1991 a palaeontologist described a 300 - million - year - old fossil found in illinois , which looks remarkably like a living hagfish . as far as external appearances go , hagfish have hardly changed through that vast expanse of time .
as a deep - sea ecologist , andrew thaler says hagfish are common visitors anywhere there’s free food , like whale carcasses .
a sketch by bashford dean of a hagfish caught on the line . in the slime that surrounds it lies five eggs .
too few hagfish could also be bad for the food chain . while hagfish eat huge quantities of deep - sea worms , they also serve as tasty meals for seals and other marine mammals ( which apparently don’t mind a mouthful of slime ) .
dirtsailor2003 , ' slime eels ! ! ! ! aka hagfish , ' via flickr . cc by - nd 2 . 0
a hagfish usually swims slowly along the seafloor in a snake - like fashion although it may have occasional bursts of speed .
hagfish have one of the animal kingdom ' s gooiest secret weapons : they shoot gill - clogging slime at their enemies .
josh kogot , michelle kincer and ryan kincer demonstrate the elasticity of the slime secreted from a pacific hagfish in a lab .
the hagfish ‘eye’ and retina are very simple , and resemble the pineal organ of vertebrates ( see main text ) . furthermore , during lamprey metamorphosis , the eye develops from a simple hagfish - like form to a vertebrate - like adult form .
kuraku s , kuratani s . time scale for cyclostome evolution inferred with a phylogenetic diagnosis of hagfish and lamprey cdna sequences .
. the occurrence and distribution of gnrh in the brain of atlantic hagfish , an agnatha , determined by chromatography and immunocytochemistry .
the tough and soft skin of the hagfish is also a popular commodity and is used to make wallets , purses , handbags , boots and similar items . the skin is normally market under the name “eelskin” or “eel skin” , not hagfish skin .
( pacific hagfish ) are found in cold marine waters of the antitropical north and south pacific ocean on muddy sea floors .
pacific hagfish are found typically on muddy bottoms to depths of 633 meters , but can also be found occasionally on rocky bottoms . they are more common at shallower depths , from 40 to 100 meters . pacific hagfish may make small migrations from shallow waters in the fall into deeper water . although this is unconfirmed , it is consistent with seasonal migrations in other hagfish .
hagfish have slime glands along their body - length which allow them to produce a slimy solution that aids in deterring predators . sometimes hagfish have been called slime eels because of this ( even though they are not related to the true eels ) . hagfish are able to get themselves out of the slime they produce by tying themselves in a knot and squeezing away the slime .
the obvious question here is , what’s up with all that mucous ? do hagfish hate modern highway infrastructure or harbor some sort of vendetta against priuses ? apparently , the hagfish uses slime for self - defense against predators or alternatively , for hunting prey .
the fish leather market began to flounder when it became apparent that many pacific hagfish had inferior skins . buyers looked to the east coast , whose hagfish skins were of higher quality . the atlantic - side fishery now supplies 80 percent of the market .
hagfish represent the oldest extant craniates and are an important link between invertebrates and vertebrates . however , key elements of the reproductive system have not been elucidated in hagfish . there is new evidence from our recent studies that atlantic hagfish may have a seasonal reproductive cycle . these data include seasonal changes in gonadotropin - releasing hormone , gonadal steroids , . . . [ show full abstract ]
scientists believe hagfish slime or similar proteins could be turned into tights or breathable athletic wear , or even bullet - proof vests .
hagfish eggs are approximately one inch long , and encased in a tough shell . these eggs are large for a fish , and a female can therefore not produce very many . despite the low number of eggs laid , hagfish exist in large numbers , with populations of up to 15 , 000 occurring in a relatively small area . this suggests that hagfish have a low mortality rate .
in a truly sci - fi scenario , thousands of mucus - spewing hagfish—destined for dinner plates in asia—coated a road in oregon .
it is estimated that hagfish may live 40 years in the ocean and 17 years in a protected environment such as an aquarium .
identify the ciliary opsin ( or opsins ) of hagfish and determine its ( or their ) phylogenetic relationship to other ciliary opsins .
a jawless fish within the chordate phylum ( agnatha is greek for ‘no jaw’ ) . the two extant groups are hagfish and lampreys
holmberg , k . and öhman , p . ( 1976 ) fine structure of retinal synaptic organelles in lamprey and hagfish photoreceptors .
” disgusting hagfish and magnificent sharks ” , tammy frank , noaa ocean explorer . retrieved on 2008 - 03 - 28 . urltoken
pacific hagfish hatch from an egg in fully functional form without any intermediate larval stage . determining the sex of pacific hagfish below 35 cm in length is difficult as a copulatory organ is absent . despite over a century of searching , only 200 fertilized eggs of
table 1 : list of predatory fish species , recorded and observed in video footage , whose gills were clogged by hagfish slime .
some people call hagfish the
vultures of the sea
, because they seem to get most of their food by scavenging .
after plenty of careful observation , uyeno , clark and their colleagues think they can explain how hagfish get the job done . what ' s more , their idea might go a long way towards explaining many of the hagfish ' s other unusual biological features .
that is speculative for now . but if it ever does come to pass , one day a hagfish could save your life .
10 . hagfish slime could be the fiber of the future . hagfish slime contains tens of thousands of very thin ( 100 times smaller than a human hair ) protein threads . the threads are extremely strong , and when stretched and dried out they resemble spider silk . like spider silk , scientists think hagfish slime could be woven together to produce super - strong fabrics . potentially , hagfish slime could be used to create material with the strength of nylon or plastic , and applications range from bulletproof vests to artificial tissues .
there’s still much and more we don’t know about hagfish and their slime , but the closer you look , the more weirdness you’ll find . hagfish can tie themselves into knots , they sometimes take up residence in dead bodies , and their hearts beat without oxygen .
the obvious question here is , what ' s up with all that mucus ? do hagfish hate modern highway infrastructure or harbour some sort of vendetta against priuses ? apparently , the hagfish uses slime for self - defence against predators or alternatively , for hunting prey .
the hagfish is famous for its ability to emit mucus and even its scientific name is derived from the greek word for slime . one single hagfish can fill a milk jug with slime in no time . the slime is probably a way for the hagfish to fend of predators , since the slime can be used to form a protective slime - cocoon . if a fish tries to eat the cocoon , the slime can clog its gills and make it suffocate . if you try to chew hagfish slime , it will expand .
. . . commercial interest in the hagfish has increased as traditional fishery stock harvests have receded in some regions . while attention has recently turned to the hagfish as a potential source of edible meat and skin , there are no regulations on hagfish harvesting throughout america ' s eastern seaboard at present ( powell et al . , 2005 ) . as fascinating as hagfish may be in their abstract and conceptual role in supplying missing pieces to the vertebrate evolutionary puzzle , there are important practical reasons to study them , too . . . .
the largest species of hagfish can reach about 4ft ( 1 . 2m ) , though most are around 1ft ( 30cm ) long .
to protect hagfish populations in the face of all the unknowns , several us states have made moves ( pdf , p . 7 ) to monitor their fairly unregulated hagfish fisheries . in the meantime , they might want to think about some tiny seat belts , too .
hagfish are also known as slime eels , thought they are not eels . they belong to the class agnatha , fish without jaws .
the largest hagfish , eptatretus goliath , can grow to more than four feet , while the smallest species reach only several inches long .
to wipe its slime away , the hagfish will tie itself into a knot and work the knot from its head to its tail , scraping off the slime as it goes . if its nostril fills with slime , the hagfish will “sneeze” to clear out the clog .
we show hagfish diverging either before the divergence of lampreys or else after lampreys separated from the line that would become the jawed vertebrates .
a system of sensory organs resembling taste buds , called schreiner organs , are found throughout the epidermis . the distribution of these organs is more extensive than taste buds in nearly any vertebrate , giving hagfish the ability to sense prey in dark and muddy habitats . this sensory system has no direct homologue in vertebrates and seems specific to hagfish . hagfish also have well - developed nasal organs used in olfaction .
you can argue quite strongly that hagfish are ' designed to dine ' ,
says glover .
i think that uyeno and clark have provided robust evidence that the loose skin of hagfish certainly does appear to be a critical component facilitating the knotting behaviour .
when they ' re comfortable , they curl up ,
chu said , gently drawing a net through the mass of hagfish .
hagfish have no external sex organs , which means they probably don’t do internal fertilization ( but then again , they might be like coelacanths , which pull it off without the usual equipment ) . but we’re not sure ; attempts to observe mating in captivity have proven similarly futile . one hagfish authority compares hagfish to giant pandas , in that they refuse to get it on in captivity , reported the wsj .
“ [ hagfish ] are primitive jawless fishes with an eel - like body , ” deep sea ecologist andrew david thaler told gizmodo . “you can immediately tell you’re dealing with a hagfish if , rather than a jaw , it has a horrifying tooth - lined rasping opening where its mouth would be that looks like something out of hr geiger’s sketchbook . also , if there’s slime , it’s a hagfish . ”
dean’s hagfish egg collection came from monterey bay fishermen who spent a summer dangling baited lines from rowboats . in their alarm at having been hooked , the hagfish released slime , encasing them as they struggled on the line . stuck within those gobs of slime were the eggs .
“but our research suggests hagfish did not degenerate from lamprey - like ancestors , but are instead the remnants of an earlier sister group . ”
hagfish originally had good eyes and lost them , but this is not reverse evolution because eye complexity did not evolve in the first place .
prediction 5 : if hagfish are monophyletic with lampreys , then they might represent a form with arrested development , rather than a degenerate form .
groups . pacific hagfish have changed little over the past 330 million years , and closely resemble the first craniates . the evolutionary path leading to
but glover says it is less clear whether there are clear links between body knotting and some of the other strange features of hagfish biology .
a modern hagfish , the pacific hagfish eptatretus ( top ) , shows some of the diagnostic features of the group : the tentacles surrounding the snout , the left oesophagocutaneous opening ( in the rear of the gill openings ) , and the series of large , ventrolateral slime glands . the earliest known fossil hagfish , myxinikela , from the late carboniferous of illinois , had a much stouter body shape but clearly shows the tentacles .
only little information is known about the reproduction of hagfish . at present the sex ratio of hag fish is found to be 100 : 1 favor of females . in some species of hagfish they have both the ovaries and testes and the female gonads do not function until the individual has attained the particular lifecycle stage . the female hagfish lay 20 to 30 eggs which are yolky and the eggs do not have a larval stage
if there’s one thing you really don’t want scattered across a highway , it’s live hagfish . but last week , five vehicles collided on an oregon highway , flinging 7 , 500 pounds of hagfish—also known as “snot snakes” and “slime eels”—across the blacktop , and making a very unusual mess .
the hagfish family , myxinidae , is the only family in the order myxiniformes ( also known as hyperotreti ) , which itself is the only order in the class myxini . thus , hagfish is variously used for any of the three taxonomic levels ( itis 2003 ; nelson 1994 ) .
because of their inaccessibility , hagfish reproduction and early development have escaped observation . the reproductive patterns of most species of hagfish are unknown . to date , no one has been able to successfully reproduce any hagfish species in captivity . there is limited information on reproduction in one hagfish species in japan . the japanese hagfish , e . burgeri , is the only known species of hagfish that has a regular annual reproductive cycle and undergoes an annual migration ( ichikawa et al . , 2000 ; kobayashi et al . , 1972 ; nozaki et al . , 2000 ) . a study by martini et al . ( 1997 ) suggested that atlantic hagfish have limited reproductive potential based on the small number of eggs produced ( less than 30 per female ) , about 25 % of the animals examined did not have visible gonadal tissue and the small number of males ( less than 6 % of the population ) , gravid females ( less than 1 % ) and postovulatory females ( less than 5 % ) .
currently , there are no regulations governing the harvesting of hagfish along the east coast . discard rates of hagfish from the fishery reach up to 50 to 60 % ( noaa / nmfs ) ( martini , 1998 ) . since there has been little or no information about the life history of hagfish including growth rate , age determination , reproductive biology , life span , and larval size at hatching , the level at which a sustainable fisheries for this species can be maintained is unknown . in order for fisheries management to manage its hagfish stocks and develop a sustainable commercial hagfish fishery , an information base is needed for optimum use of the hagfish resource ( barss , 1993 ) . to address these issues , the new england fishery council has begun the process of developing regulations in 2003 although it will likely take a few years to develop a fisheries management plan .
this is the part where we talk about hagfish : a wormlike creature , neither vertebrate nor invertebrate , that survives by secreting a special kind of fibrous slime that effectively closes up attackers ' gills ; a single hagfish can produce quarts of the stuff . when hagfish are hungry — they can survive for as long without food as a bedbug — they are fond of burrowing into the bellies of their victims and consuming them from the inside out . if a fisherman is unlucky enough to pull up hagfish in his or her net , the other fish in the catch will be ruined . how does a hagfish clear away excess slime ? it quite literally ties itself into a knot , which moves along its horrible length .
it ' s actually a thin film of hagfish proteins . this skin collapses , forming a short fibre . she twirls it between her fingers .
scientists have been studying hagfish for centuries - darwin even took notes on them . but there are many basic facts they still don ' t know . we are still in the dark on how they reproduce and how to tell how old a hagfish is . bony fish usually have otoliths , which act like tree rings , and are used as a way of telling how old they are - but hagfish don ' t have these .
actually , thaler adds , “slime” isn’t even really the right word . ( see
hagfish slime could be eco - friendly fabric .
)
these fish are affected by the trash and chemicals that we put into the ocean . pacific hagfish are a crucial part of the cycle of life as they eliminate dead and dying organisms . there could be a significant impact on the ecosystem should there be a large scale removal of hagfish .
scientists have demonstrated that they can use mild conditions to convert artificial hagfish slime into one of the stiffest protein - based fibres ever reported . 1
molecular–genetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear genes has provided strong support for the notion that hagfish and lampreys are sister taxa 56 , 135 – 139 .
prediction 4 : the hagfish retina should not contain bipolar cells , and its photoreceptors should synapse directly onto the projection neurons ( ganglion cells ) .
examine the phylogenetic relationship between cyclostome genes ; in particular , examine the relationship between the opsin genes to estimate the stage at which hagfish diverged .
that realisation encouraged uyeno to reassess what drove the evolution of the other unusual features of hagfish biology , in a paper published in june 2016 .
the hagfish has been called the nastiest and most disgusting creature in the sea . in south korea , it’s called dinner . check it out :
the condition of hagfish eyes has proved particularly influential in scenarios of eye evolution . in contrast to lampreys , which possess a sophisticated eye with a lens , iris and eye muscles , hagfish eyes lack such structures and , unlike almost all other vertebrates , including lampreys , the retinal epithelium of hagfish is devoid of pigment granules . this condition has been interpreted to reflect a rudimentary intermediate evolutionary grade in the gradual assembly of the vertebrate eye .
there has been long discussion in scientific literature about the hagfish being classified as vertebrates versus invertebrates . given their classification as agnatha , hagfish are seen as an elementary vertebrate in between prevertebrate and gnathostome . they tend to be classified either under the subphylum vertebrata or as an invertebrate within subphylum craniata .
because it is so deficient in necessary parts , “it has been postulated that the hagfish eye reflects a failure in eye development to proceed beyond that of an earlier stage in vertebrate eye evolution , ” gabbott’s team writes . 10 they recall the commonly accepted contribution of the hagfish to evolutionary understanding :
d . bardack . 1991 . first fossil hagfish ( myxinoidea ) : a record from the pennsylvanian of illinois . science 254 : 701 - 703 .
hanson , c . a . and sidell , b . d . ( 1983 ) atlantic hagfish cardiac muscle : metabolic basis of tolerance to anoxia .
hagfish with complex eyes were designed by a wise creator god , but they have degenerated like so many other things in this sin - cursed world .
) , with rather poorly organized outer - segment membranes . in each of these respects the hagfish eye resembles the pineal organ of non - mammalian vertebrates
the resulting paired lateral photoreceptive organs would have resembled the ‘eyes’ of extant hagfish , lacking any image - forming apparatus and subserving non - visual functions .
as late as 2006 , a new member was added to the hagfish family myxinidae when the goliath hagfish was scientifically described by mincarone & stewart and given the name eptatretus goliath . eptatretus goliath was described from a specimen caught at a dept of 811 metres ( 2 , 661 feet ) at the head of the hauraki canyon off the northeast north island in new zealand . the species was named goliath since it was a true giant in the world of hagfish ; the specimen measured an astonishing 127 , 5 cm ( approximately 50 inches ) . this makes eptatretus goliath the largest known species of hagfish .