The roles of plasma accessible and cytosolic carbonic anhydrases in bicarbonate (HCO) excretion in Pacific hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii).

Pacific hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii) are marine scavengers and feed on decaying animal carrion by burrowing their bodies inside rotten carcasses where they are exposed to several threatening environmental stressors, including hypercapnia (high partial pressures of CO). Hagfish possess a remarkable capacity to tolerate hypercapnia, and their ability to recover from acid-base disturbances is well known. To deal with the metabolic acidosis resulting from exposure to high CO, hagfish can mount a rapid elevation of plasma HCO concentration (hypercarbia).