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.
Myrichthys is a genus of snake eels currently containing 11 recognized species found in tropical and warm temperate oceans worldwide.
Myrichthys colubrinus, the banded snake eel, ringed snake eel or harlequin snake eel, is a snake eel from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 97 cm (38 in) in length.
Myrichthys maculosus, commonly known as the tiger snake eel, the ocellate snake eel or the spotted snake eel, is a species of fish in the family Ophichthidae, native to the Indo-Pacific. It is occasionally encountered in the aquarium trade. It grows to a length of 1 m (40 in).
Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes, which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage and are usually predators.
Myrichthys breviceps, the sharptail snake-eel, is a fish species native to the Western Atlantic.
Bascanichthys ceciliae is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache and Jean Cadenat in 1971. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern coastal Atlantic Ocean between Senegal and Angola. It inhabits shallow waters where it burrows in sand; the burrows are sometimes exposed during low tide. It can reach a maximum total length of 82.5 centimetres, but more commonly reaches a TL of 60 cm.
Bascanichthys paulensis is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Margaret Hamilton Storey in 1939. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the coast off Sao Paulo, Brazil in the western Atlantic Ocean. There is also a population from Pointe-Noire Bay, Democratic Republic of Congo, in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Males can reach a maximum total length of 62.3 centimetres (24.5 in).
The Horsehair eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Bradley Moore Davis in 1891. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western central Atlantic Ocean, including Florida, USA, the Gulf of Mexico and Puerto Rico. It dwells at a depth range of 90 to 200 meters, and inhabits sand and mud substrates. Males can reach a maximum total length of 76 centimeters (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 Oriental worm-eel, also known as the Oriental snake eel, the Oriental sand-eel or the finny sand-eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John McClelland in 1844, originally under the genus Dalophis. It is a tropical, marine and freshwater-dwelling eel which is known from the Indo-Western Pacific, including Somalia, South Africa, India, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Oman, Palau, New Caledonia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, and Vanuatu. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 3 metres, and forms burrows in sand and mud sediments in estuaries, rivers, and inshore turbid waters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 36 centimetres (14 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 25 centimetres (9.8 in).
The longfin spotted snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker and Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt in 1993. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama, in the eastern central Pacific Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 44 to 64 metres, and inhabits sandy substrates. Males can reach a maximum total length of 51 centimetres.
The magnificent snake eel, also known as the Hawaiian spotted snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Charles Conrad Abbott in 1860, originally under the genus Pisodonophis. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central Pacific Ocean, including the Hawaiian Islands, the Leeward Islands, Johnston Island, and Midway Atoll. It dwells at a depth range of 1 to 262 metres, and inhabits crevices, sand and rocks. Males can reach a maximum total length of 78 centimetres (31 in).
The goldspotted eel, also known as the goldspotted snake eel or the dark-spotted snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Charles Alexandre Lesueur in 1825, originally under the genus Muraenophis. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Bermuda, southern Florida, USA; the Bahamas, Santa Catarina, and Brazil. It dwells at a maximum depth of 15 metres (49 ft), and inhabits rocky and coral reefs. Males can reach a maximum total length of 110 centimetres (3.6 ft).
The leopard eel is an eel in the worm or snake eels family, Ophichthidae. It was described by Achille Valenciennes in 1839, originally under the genus Ophisurus.
The spotted snake eel, also known as the tiger snake eel or the spotted tiger snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Charles Frédéric Girard in 1859. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, El Salvador, Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, and Peru. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 60 metres, and inhabits benthic sediments of mud and sand. Males can reach a maximum total length of 74 centimetres (29 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 60 centimetres (24 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 highfin snake eel (Ophichthus altipennis, also known as the blackfin snake eel or the black-finned snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856, originally under the genus Microdonophis. It is a marine, tropical eel known from the eastern Indian Ocean and northwestern and western central Pacific Ocean, including Australia, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Japan, the Marshall Islands, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 40 m, and forms burrows in soft inshore sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 103 cm.
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 Galapagos snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Charles Harvey Bollman in 1890. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Colombia, the Gulf of California, Costa Rica, the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, and Clarion Island in the Revillagigedo Archipelago in Mexico. It dwells at a depth range of 3 to 80 metres, and inhabits reefs, preferring to live in areas bearing a mixture of boulders, gravel and sand. Males can reach a maximum total length of 71 centimetres (28 in).
