As a marine ecologist, I would be remiss if I let my blog go so long without a shoutout to my favorite of marine critters, the noble and misunderstood hagfish. Slimy, ancestral, largely unknown: what’s not to love?

As an undergrad, I put together some materials on the biology and physiology of the Atlantic hagfish for a fisheries class at the Mount Desert Island Biological Labs. I’ve held onto the document in the (misguided?) sense that it may be useful to someone one day, but was never sure of the appropriate venue to disseminate it. Hello, blog. Below, find the 36-page document in all its pictorial glory, including close up images of its five–count ’em, FIVE–hearts.

Anatomical Review and Standard Operating Procedure for the Atlantic Hagfish (Myxine glutinosa)

Happy dissecting!

(Image credit: Wikimedia commons)