''Myxine debueni'', the Magellan hagfish, is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
jawless fish
Agnatha (; ) or jawless fish is a paraphyletic infraphylum of animals in the subphylum Vertebrata of the phylum Chordata, characterized by the lack of jaws. The group consists of both extant taxon, living (Cyclostomi, cyclostomes such as hagfish ...
in the family
Myxinidae.
It is found off the coast of southernmost
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, where it is known only from two specimens collected near
Dawson Island
Dawson Island () is an island in the Strait of Magellan that forms part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, 100 km south of the city of Punta Arenas in Chile, and part of the Municipality of Punta Arenas. It is located southeast of Brunswi ...
in the
Strait of Magellan
The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Considered the most important natura ...
prior to 1970. It may be threatened by
shipping
Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...
,
dredging
Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...
, and fishing activities, but very little is known about the species due to the lack of surveys.
It is named in honor of Spanish ichthyologist
Fernando de Buen y Lozano
Fernando de Buen y Lozano (10 October 1895 – 6 May 1962) was a Spanish ichthyologist and oceanographer. He lived in Mexico, Uruguay, and Chile. In Uruguay, he was the director of the Department of Science at the Oceanography and Fisheries Servic ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4726963
Myxinidae
Endemic fauna of Chile
Fish of Chile
Fish described in 1995