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Glite Dictionary
Myxinidae

Myxinidae

9.9
A sea fish that has no jaws and makes slime and looks like an eel
  • noun
  • /mɪkˈsɪnɪdi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Myxinidae
  • Myxinidae is a fascinating family of jawless marine fish that produce slime as a defense mechanism.

Examples

  • Scientists have classified hagfishes under the family Myxinidae due to their unique characteristics.

  • Hagfish, Eptatretus spp., of the class Agnatha, family Myxinidae, are among the most primitive and unique of fishes.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The members of Myxinidae, commonly known as hagfishes, are often studied for their extraordinary ability to produce copious amounts of slime.

Synonyms

hagfish
vsMyxinidae
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A long eel-like sea fish that eats dead or dying fish from the inside and makes slime

is the family name covering these slime-producing jawless fish
slime eel
vsMyxinidae
9.9

A sea animal like an eel without jaws that makes lots of slime and eats dead fish

is the scientific family term for these slime-secreting jawless animals

Surface Forms

Myxinidae singular
Myxinidae plural

Morphology

Myxinidae = Myxine (opaque) = Myxin + idae

Formed from the genus name 'Myxine' plus the specialized taxonomic family suffix '-idae'; the suffix and taxonomic meaning are specialized and not obvious to general learners.

Etymology

Myxinidae comes from the old Greek root myx- meaning 'slime' or 'mucus' and the ending -idae meaning 'family' or 'group'. So Myxinidae is the 'slime' family, which fits the hagfishes that make a lot of slime and have no jaws.