What is "hagfish"

Hag \Hag\ (h[a^]g), n. [OE. hagge, hegge, witch, hag, AS. h[ae]gtesse; akin to OHG. hagazussa, G. hexe, D. heks, Dan. hex, Sw. h["a]xa. The first part of the word is prob. the same as E. haw, hedge, and the orig. meaning was perh., wood woman, wild woman. [root]12.]

1. A witch, sorceress, or enchantress; also, a wizard. [Obs.] ``[Silenus] that old hag.''
   --Golding.

2. An ugly old woman.
   --Dryden.

3. A fury; a she-monster.
   --Crashaw.

4. (Zo["o]l.) An eel-like marine marsipobranch ( Myxine glutinosa), allied to the lamprey. It has a suctorial mouth, with labial appendages, and a single pair of gill openings. It is the type of the order Hyperotreta. Called also hagfish, borer, slime eel, sucker, and sleepmarken.

5. (Zo["o]l.) The hagdon or shearwater.

6. An appearance of light and fire on a horse's mane or a man's hair.
   --Blount.

   Hag moth (Zo["o]l.), a moth ( Phobetron pithecium), the larva of which has curious side appendages, and feeds on fruit trees.

   Hag's tooth (Naut.), an ugly irregularity in the pattern of matting or pointing.

n. any of several primitive eellike creatures, of the family Myxinidae, having a sucking mouth with rasping teeth; considered edible in Japan, their skin is used to make eelskin leather

1. n. eellike cyclostome having a tongue with horny teeth in a round mouth surrounded by eight tentacles; feeds on dead or trapped fishes by boring into their bodies [syn: hag, slime eels]

2. [also: hagfishes (pl)]

Hagfish, the class Myxini (also known as Hyperotreti), are eel-shaped, slime-producing marine fish (occasionally called slime eels). They are the only known living animals that have a skull but no vertebral column. Along with lampreys, hagfish are jawless; they are the sister group to vertebrates, and living hagfish remain similar to hagfish from around 300 million years ago.

The classification of hagfish has been controversial. The issue is whether the hagfish is a degenerate type of vertebrate-fish (most closely related to lampreys), or represents a stage that precedes the evolution of the vertebral column (as do lancelets). The original scheme groups hagfish and lampreys together as cyclostomes (or historically, Agnatha), as the oldest surviving class of vertebrates alongside gnathostomes (the now-ubiquitous jawed vertebrates). An alternative scheme proposed that jawed vertebrates are more closely related to lampreys than to hagfish (i.e., that vertebrates include lampreys but exclude hagfish), and introduces the category craniata to group vertebrates near hagfish. Recent DNA evidence has supported the original scheme.

Hagfish were an American rock band originated in Sherman, Texas that rose to notoriety via performances in the Deep Ellum district of Dallas, Texas, drawing influences from both punk rock and alternative rock. The lineup included lead vocalist George Stroud Reagan III, guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Doni Blair and drummer Tony Barsotti for the majority of the band's career, including nearly all of their recorded work. Formed by the Blair brothers in 1991, Hagfish emerged with contemporaries Tripping Daisy and Toadies as part of the 1990s Dallas/Fort Worth alternative rock scene and were also heavily influenced by the Descendents/ All, whose members recorded and produced two of the band's studio albums. After officially disbanding in 2001, Hagfish have reunited occasionally for live performances.

Hagfish is the self-titled third studio album by the American rock band Hagfish, released in March 1998 on Honest Don's Records, a subsidiary label of Fat Wreck Chords. The album was reworked following a long delay with the band's previous label, London Records, who rejected the band's initial offering and eventually dropped the group. Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton would both reprise their roles as producers, having previously worked with the band on Rocks Your Lame Ass. An early version of "18 Days" (originally titled "New Year's Song") and a live version of "Twisting" previously appeared as b-sides to the "Happiness" promotional single in 1995. Alternate versions of "Hand" and "Agent 37" later appeared on the compilation album That Was Then, This Is Then in 2001.