The Biology of Hagfishes, 1998

The hagfishes comprise a uniform group of some 60 species inhabiting the cool or deep parts of the oceans of both hemispheres. They are considered the most primitive representatives of the group of craniate chordates, which - apart from the hagfishes that show no traces of verte­ brae -includes all vertebrate animals. Consequently the hagfishes have played and still playa central role in discussions concerning the evolution of the vertebrates. Although most of the focus on hagfishes may be the result of their being primitive, it should not be forgotten that, at the same time, they are specialized animals with a unique way of life that is interesting in its own right. It is now more than 30 years since a comprehensive treatise on hagfishes was published. The Biology of Myxine, edited by Alf Brodal and Ragnar Fange (Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, 1963), provided a wealth of information on the biology of hagfishes, and over the years remained a major source of information and inspiration to students of hagfishes.

One Evolution, Taxonomy and Ecology.- 1 Relationships of living and fossil hagfishes.- 2 Conodonts: a sister group to hagfishes?.- 3 Hagfish systematics.- 4 Asian hagfishes and their fisheries biology.- 5 The ecology of hagfishes.- Two Development and Pathology.- 6 Chromatin diminution and chromosome elimination in hagfishes.- 7 The tumour pathology of Myxine glutinosa.- Three The Integument and Associated Glands.- 8 Hagfish skin and slime glands.- 9 The dermis.- Four Supporting Tissues.- 10 The notochord.- 11 Hagfish cartilage.- Five The Muscular System.- 12 The skeletal muscle fibre types of Myxine glutinosa.- Six The Respiratory System.- 13 The gills of hagfishes.- 14 Ventilation and gas exchange.- Seven The Cardiovascular System.- 15 Cardiovascular function in hagfishes.- 16 The sinus system of hagfishes — lymphatic or secondary circulatory system?.- 17 Dermal capillaries.- Eight The blood and Immune System.- 18 Hagfish blood cells and their formation.- 19 Volume regulation in red blood cells.- 20 Transport of bicarbonate, other ions and substrates across the red blood cell membrane of hagfishes.- 21 Hagfish haemoglobins.- 22 The hagfish immune system.- Nine The Uro-genital System.- 23 The hagfish kidney as a model to study renal physiology and toxicology.- 24 An analysis of the function of the glomeruli of the hagfish mesonephric kidney.- 25 Gonads and reproduction in hagfishes.- Ten The Endocrine System.- 26 The endocrine system of hagfishes.- 27 The control of catecholamine secretion in hagfishes.- Eleven The Nervous System.- 28 Ontogeny of the head and nervous system of myxinoids.- 29 The central nervous system of hagfishes.- 30 The autonomic nervous system and chromaffin tissue in hagfishes.- Twelve The Sensory Organs.- 31 Skin sensory organs in the Atlantichagfish Myxine glutinosa.- 32 Cutaneous exteroreceptors and their innervation in hagfishes.- 33 The olfactory system of hagfishes.- 34 The eyes of hagfishes.- 35 Structure of the hagfish inner ear.- 36 Physiology of the inner ear.