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.
Dalophis is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It currently contains the following species:
Ethadophis is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It currently contains the following species:
Hemerorhinus is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It contains the following species:
Uroconger drachi is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Jacques Blache and Marie-Louise Bauchot in 1976. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from a single specimen taken from Pointe Noire, Republic of the Congo, in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. From the holotype it is known to dwell at a depth of 120 metres (390 ft). Males can reach a total length of 41.5 centimetres (16.3 in).
Pseudomyrophis atlanticus is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache in 1975. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Senegal and Angola. It dwells at a depth range of 40 to 100 metres, and inhabits the continental shelf, where it forms burrows in sand and mud. Males can reach a maximum total length of 25.9 centimetres (10.2 in).
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.
Brachysomophis atlanticus is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache and Luiz Vieria Caldas Saldanha in 1972. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Senegal and the Gulf of Guinea. It inhabits the continental shelf, and makes burrows in sand and mud. Males can reach a maximum total length of 27.3 centimetres.
Callechelys leucoptera is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jean Cadenat in 1954. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Senegal to Côte d'Ivoire. It is known to dwell at a depth of 45 metres. It inhabits shallow waters where it forms burrows in the sand, which are sometimes exposed during low tide. Males can reach a maximum total length of 73 centimetres, but more commonly reach a TL of 50 centimetres.
Dalophis boulengeri is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache, Jean Cadenat and Alfred Stauch in 1970. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Atlantic Ocean, including Angola, Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Gabon, Gambia, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Togo. It is active at night, and inhabits burrows during the daytime, leaving its head exposed. Males can reach a maximum total length of 57.4 centimetres, but more commonly reach a TL of 47.5 cm.
Dalophis cephalopeltis is an eel in the family Ophichthidae first described by Peiter Bleeker in 1863. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known to inhabit the Eastern Atlantic near the coast of western Africa. It lives in estuaries and rivers, and forms burrows in sand or mud. Males have been recorded to reach a maximum total length of 53.5 centimetres.
The armless snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by François Étienne Delaroche in 1809. It is a subtropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Spain, Mauritania, and the Mediterranean. It dwells at a depth range of 20–80 metres, and forms burrows in mud or sand. Males can reach a maximum total length of 150 centimetres.
Dalophis obtusirostris is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache and Marie-Louise Bauchot in 1972. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Mauritania and Senegal. It inhabits estuaries and forms burrows in sand or mud. Males can reach a maximum total length of 38.8 centimetres.
Ethadophis epinepheli is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache and Marie-Louise Bauchot in 1972. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from a single specimen recovered from the stomach of a grouper in Senegal, in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is known to reach a total length of 42.4 centimetres.
Hemerorhinus opici is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache and Marie-Louise Bauchot in 1972. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Senegal and Angola. It inhabits shallow waters near to shore, and forms burrows in sand and mud substrates. Males can reach a maximum total length of 32.5 centimetres (12.8 in).
Mystriophis crosnieri, known commonly as the spoon-nose eel in the United Kingdom, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache in 1971. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Senegal, Angola, and the western Mediterranean. It dwells at a depth range of 75 to 300 metres, and forms burrows in sand and mud sediments on the continental shelf. Males can reach a maximum total length of 96.5 centimetres (38.0 in).
Ophichthus leonensis is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from a single specimen found in the stomach of a fish taken from a depth of 180 metres (590 ft) in Sierra Leone, in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is presumed to form burrows in sand or mud, as is common amongst eels. Males are known to reach a total length of 23.2 centimetres (9.1 in).
Phaenomonas longissima, also known as the short-maned sand eel in St. Helena, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jean Cadenat and Émile Marchal in 1963, originally under the genus Callechelys. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Atlantic Ocean, including Ascension Island, St. Helena, Brazil, Senegal, Ghana, and Cape Verde. It dwells at a depth range of 25 to 35 metres, and forms burrows in sand and mud sediments on the continental shelf. Males can reach a maximum total length of 50 centimetres (20 in).
Xyrias guineensis is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache in 1975, originally under the genus Ophisurus. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from Pointe Noire, Congo, in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth of 300 metres (980 ft), and inhabits burrows formed in sand and mud sediments on the continental shelf. Males can reach a maximum total length of 63.6 centimetres (25.0 in).
Marie-Louise Bauchot is a French ichthyologist and assistant manager of the National Museum of Natural History, France.
