Ophichthidae is a family of fish in the order Anguilliformes, commonly known as the snake eels. The term "Ophichthidae" comes from Greek ophis ("serpent") and ichthys ("fish"). Snake eels are also burrowing eels. They are named for their physical appearance, as they have long, cylindrical, snake-like bodies. This family is found worldwide in tropical to warm temperate waters. They inhabit a wide range of habitats, from coastal shallows and even rivers, to depths below 800 m (2,600 ft). Most species are bottom dwellers, hiding in mud or sand to capture their prey of crustaceans and small fish, but some are pelagic.
Gymnothorax is a genus of fish in the family Muraenidae found in Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. With more than 120 species, it the most speciose genus of moray eels.
The Chlopsidae, or false morays, are a family of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Anguilliformes, the eels. The eels in this family arefound in coral reefs worldwide. As their name suggests, they somewhat resemble moray eels in appearance. However, they are smaller than true morays, ranging from 11 to 42 cm in length.
Xenoconger is a genus of eels in the family Chlopsidae. It contains the single species Xenoconger fryeri, or Fryer's false moray. This species was described by Charles Tate Regan in 1912. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known solely from Assumption Island in the Indian Ocean and Tokunoshima in the Amami Islands. It is known to dwell at a depth range of 1 to 5 metres, and inhabit benthic rock crevices. Males are known to reach a total length of 20.5 centimetres (8.1 in). The collector was John Claud Fortescue Fryer.
Nettenchelys bellottii is a species of duckbill eel in the family Nettastomatidae. It is found in the western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. This species is only known from larvae.
Apterichtus is a genus of fish in the family Ophichthidae. Many of its species are called finless eels.
Echelus is a genus of eels in the snake-eel family Ophichthidae.
Neenchelys is a genus of snake eels native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. All species of Neenchelys have two rather than three preopercular pores, a significant character among many species of ophichthids.
Ophichthus is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae.
Dysomma is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Synaphobranchidae, the cutthroat eels. These eels are found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The stripesnout false moray is an eel in the family Chlopsidae. It was described by William Beebe and John Tee-Van in 1938, originally under the genus Arenichthys. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern Pacific Ocean. It generally dwells at a depth around 82 m.
The bicolor false moray is an eel in the family Chlopsidae. It was described by George S. Myers and Charles Barkley Wade in 1941, originally under the genus Garmanichthys. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from around the Galapagos Islands in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. Males are known to reach a maximum total length of 20 cm.
The bicolored false moray, bicoloured false moray, false moray, or bicolor eel, Chlopsis bicolor, is an eel in the family Chlopsidae. It was described by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1810. It is a subtropical, marine eel which is known from throughout the eastern and western Atlantic Ocean, including southern Florida, USA; Mexico, southern Brazil, eastern Morocco, Mauritania, and the northern Mediterranean. It typically dwells at a depth of 80–365 m. Males can reach a maximum total length of 42 cm.
Chlopsis bidentatus is an eel in the family Chlopsidae. It was described by Kenneth A. Tighe and John E. McCosker in 2003. It is a deep-water, marine eel which is known from New Caledonia and Fiji, in the western central Pacific Ocean. It typically dwells at a depth range of 300–503 m. Males can reach a maximum total length of 16.7 cm.
The mottled false moray, is an eel in the family Chlopsidae. It was described by Alvin Seale in 1917, originally under the genus Garmanichthys. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the west coast of Africa, as well as regions in the eastern and western Atlantic, western Pacific, and western Indian Oceans. It typically dwells at a depth of 64–355 m. Males can reach a maximum total length of 19.9 cm.
Chlopsis longidens is an eel in the family Chlopsidae. It was described by Samuel Garman in 1899, originally under the genus Atopichthys. It is known from a single leptocephalus specimen collected from between Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, in the central eastern Pacific Ocean. From that specimen. the species is known to dwell in a tropical, marine climate at a maximum depth of 3,184 m. The specimen may possibly be a larval bicolor false moray.
Chlopsis slusserorum is an eel in the family Chlopsidae. It was described by Kenneth A. Tighe and John E. McCosker in 2003. It is a marine, deep-water eel which is known from Fiji and the Solomon Islands, in the western central Pacific Ocean. It typically dwells at a depth of 366–487 m. Males can reach a maximum total length of 14.1 cm.
Myrophinae, the worm eels, is a subfamily of ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Ophichthidae, which also includes the snake eels in the subfamily Ophichthinae.
The Taiwanese worm eel is a species of ophichthid fish found in Taiwan. This species is only known from northeastern and southwestern Taiwan. This species is the only member of the genus Sympenchelys.
The many-vertebrae snake eel is a species of ray-finned fish native to the Northwest Pacific.
