American sailfin eel

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American sailfin eel
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Ophichthidae
Genus: Letharchus
Species:
L. velifer
Binomial name
Letharchus velifer
Goode & Bean, 1882

The American sailfin eel (Letharchus velifer, also known as the sailfin eel [1] ) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). [2] It was described by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean in 1882. [3] It is a subtropical, marine eel which is known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including the United States (North Carolina and northeastern Florida) and the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. It frequently inhabits scallop grounds. Males can reach a maximum total length of 51 centimeters. [2]

Related Research Articles

Letharchus is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It currently contains the following species:

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Moringua edwardsi, the common spaghetti eel, is an eel in the family Moringuidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Charles Harvey Bollman in 1889, originally under the genus Stilbiscus. It is a subtropical, marine eel known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Florida, Venezuela, the Virgin Islands, British, and the Virgin Islands of the United States. Males can reach a maximum total length of 15 cm, while females can reach a maximum of 50 cm. The eels feed primarily off of burrowing invertebrates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large-toothed conger</span> Species of fish

The large-toothed conger is an eel belonging to the family Congridae. It was described by Léon Vaillant in 1888, originally as a species of the genus Uroconger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow conger</span> Species of fish

The yellow conger is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean in 1896. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Gulf of Mexico and the mouth of the Amazon River, in the western Atlantic Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 26 to 183 meters, and inhabits soft sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 150 centimeters (59 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 30 centimeters (12 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red pike conger</span> Species of fish

The red pike conger is an eel in the family Muraenesocidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert in 1882, originally under the genus Muraenesox. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Peru, and Nicaragua. It dwells at a depth range of 10 to 100 metres, and inhabits sediments of sand and mud. Males can reach a maximum total length of 202 centimetres (80 in); the maximum recorded weight is 11.0 kilograms (24.3 lb).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blacktail pike-conger</span> Species of fish

The blacktail pike-conger is an eel in the family Nettastomatidae. It was described by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean in 1896. It is a subtropical, marine eel which is known from the western Atlantic Ocean. It is known to dwell at a maximum depth of 203 meters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 36.6 centimeters.

<i>Venefica procera</i> Species of fish

Venefica procera is an eel in the family Nettastomatidae. It was described by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean in 1883, originally under the genus Nettastoma. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the western central Atlantic Ocean, including North Carolina, USA, Suriname, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. It dwells at a depth range of 326 to 2,304 meters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 109 centimeters (43 in).

The Misaki worm eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and John Otterbein Snyder in 1901, originally under the genus Muraenichthys. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling eel which is known from reefs in Japan, in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Males can reach a maximum total length of 44.8 centimetres (17.6 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fangtooth snake-eel</span> Species of fish

The fangtooth snake-eel, also known as the tusky eel in Cuba and the United States, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by James Erwin Böhlke in 1956. It is a marine, tropical eel known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and French Guiana. It is also known to occur on the northeastern coast of Brasil. It dwells at a depth range of 33–91 m (100–300 ft), and dwells in both marine waters and brackish estuaries. It inhabits burrows on a permanent or semipermanent basis, and leaves its eyes and snout exposed. Males can reach a maximum total length of 84 cm (33 in). The fangtooth snake-eel's diet consists of bony fish and crustaceans.

The whip eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean in 1880. It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including the United States and the Gulf of Mexico. It inhabits reefs and coastal waters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 76 centimetres (30 in).

The smiling snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert in 1882, originally under the genus Apterichthys. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, and Mexico. It dwells at a maximum depth of 30 metres (98 ft), and inhabits sediments of sand. Males can reach a maximum total length of 41 centimetres (16 in).

The Sailfin snake-eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker in 1974. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama and Mexico. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 17 metres, and inhabits sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 31 centimetres (12 in).

The Sailfin eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Raymond Carroll Osburn and John Treadwell Nichols in 1916, originally under the genus Letharchus. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central Pacific Ocean, including Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama. It is known to dwell at a depth of 35 metres (115 ft), and inhabits rock and sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 81 centimetres (32 in).

Myrichthys xysturus is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert in 1882, originally under the genus Ophichthys. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central Pacific Ocean, including the Gulf of California; Baja California Sur, Mexico; and the Galapagos Islands.

The yellow snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert in 1882. It is a marine, subtropical eel known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and the United States. It dwells at a depth range of 1 to 110 m, and forms burrows in rocky and sandy regions. Males can reach a maximum total length of 818 cm (322 in), but more commonly reach a length of 540 cm (210 in).

The Pouch snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by George S. Myers and Charles Barkley Wade in 1941, originally under the genus Letharchus. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including the Galapagos Islands, the Revillagigedo Islands, and the Cocos Islands. It is known to dwell at a maximum depth of 10 metres (33 ft), and inhabits sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 64.3 centimetres (25.3 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marble-toothed snake-eel</span> Species of fish

The Marble-toothed snake-eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Charles Henry Gilbert in 1898. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador. It dwells in shallow waters at a maximum depth of 10 metres (33 ft), and inhabits sand and mud sediments and mangroves. Males can reach a maximum total length of 68 centimetres (27 in).

The smallfish snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Charles Henry Gilbert in 1890. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central Pacific Ocean, including Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, the Gulf of California and Costa Rica. It dwells in shallow waters at a maximum depth of 20 metres (66 ft), and inhabits sand and rock sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 70 centimetres (28 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bean's sawtooth eel</span> Species of bird

The Bean's sawtooth eel is an eel in the family Nemichthyidae. It was described by Theodore Gill and John Adam Ryder in 1883. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from throughout the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Western Pacific Ocean, including Iceland, South Africa, Réunion, and Australia. It dwells at a depth range of 0–5998 metres, and leads a solitary lifestyle. It migrates vertically at night. Males can reach a maximum total length of 78-80 centimetres, making it the largest sawtooth eel.

The Kaup's arrowtooth eel is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by James Yate Johnson in 1862. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the Indo-Western Pacific and eastern and western Atlantic Ocean, including the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Cape Verde, the Western Sahara, Nigeria, Namibia, South Africa, Greenland, France, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Philippines, Portugal, Spain, the Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Japan, Australia, Mauritania, Morocco, and Hawaii. It dwells at a depth range of 120 to 4,800 metres, most often between 400 to 2,200 metres, and inhabits the upper abyssal zone on the continental slope. It is intolerant of the temperatures of higher waters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 100 centimetres (39 in).

References

  1. Common names for Letharchus velifer at www.fishbase.org.
  2. 1 2 Letharchus velifer at www.fishbase.org.
  3. Goode, G. B. and T. H. Bean, 1882 (16 Sept. - 11 Nov.) [ref. 1840] Descriptions of twenty-five new species of fish from the southern United States, and three new genera, Letharcus, Ioglossus, and Chriodorus. Proceedings of the United States National Museum v. 5 (no. 297): 412-437.