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Hagfish Eptatretus strickrotti

Hagfish Eptatretus strickrotti
Hagfish Eptatretus strickrotti
Hagfish Eptatretus strickrotti
Hagfish Eptatretus strickrotti
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64070
Jacobsen, Karen; Moller, Peter
Hagfish Eptatretus strickrotti
Still Image
04/18/2006
Hagfish.jpg
It's not hard to figure out how hagfish got their name. Slithery, skinny, coated in gooey slime, and often found wriggling and eating in the guts of dead whales, most people probably don's want to be associated with them. When Alvin pilot Bruce Strickrott captured a specimen of the worm-like fish during a dive in the cold, inky Pacific depths in March 2005, he recalled thinking it was "cool ... but in a hideous sort of way."
Image of The Day caption:
When Alvin pilot Bruce Strickrott captured a specimen of a worm-like hagfish during a dive in the depths of the Pacific in March 2005, he recalled thinking it was "cool...but in a hideous sort of way." About a year later, he learned scientists wanted to name it in honor of him. In a recent issue of the journal Biological Bulletin announcing the discovery of the new species, biologists formally named it Eptatretus strickrotti. Strickrott has taken good-natured ribbing about his namesake fish from "individuals who argue that the characteristics of a hagfish seem to match the persona of some Alvin pilots," he said. "Slimy bottom dweller--how fitting."
Caption from Oceanus magazine, Vol. 51, No. 1, Pg. 66:
.... Species named for Alvin pilots:
In 2005, pilot Bruce Strickrott captured an eel-like hagfish with a suction sampler: Eptatretus strickrotti.
Used in Oceanus magazine, Vol. 45, No. 3, Pg. 5.
Illustration by Karen Jacobsen, In Situ Science Illustration. Photo by Peter Moller, University of Copenhagen, from Moller, P.R., and W. J. Jones. 2007.©Biological Bulletin©212: 40-54. Reproduced with permission from Marine Biological Laboratory.
© Marine Biological Laboratory
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