Inshore Hagfish Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Slender, cylindrical, scaleless body in brownish to purplish-grey tones
• Blind head with only light-sensitive skin patches, no visible eyes
• One nostril at the snout tip, ringed by short fleshy barbels
• Six pairs of external gill openings along the throat, a useful count for this species
• A line of slime pores running down each side of the body
• Low, continuous tail fin fold with no paired fins
• Typically under 60 cm, smaller and slimmer than many deep-sea hagfish

Common look-alikes

• Other Eptatretus hagfish sharing its coastline are best separated by gill pore counts and typical depth range.
• Lampreys share the tube-like shape but show a rasping, disc-shaped mouth and true eyes as adults, features this species never develops.
• Juvenile eels have a similar profile but possess jaws, paired fins, and scaled skin.

Where you'll see one

The Inshore Hagfish favors shallow, muddy coastal waters of the northwestern Pacific, including the seas around Japan, Korea, and eastern China, often burrowing close to shore rather than on the deep slopes preferred by many relatives.