Dark-shouldered snake eel

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Dark-shouldered snake eel
Ophichthus cephalozona1.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Anguilliformes
Family:
Ophichthidae
Genus:
Ophichthus
Species:
O. cephalozona
Binomial name
Ophichthus cephalozona
Bleeker, 1864
Synonyms [1]
  • Ophichthys cephalozonaBleeker, 1864

The dark-shouldered snake eel (Ophichthus cephalozona, also known commonly as the headsaddle snake eel, the black-neck snake eel, the blacksaddle snake eel, or the one-banded snake-eel [2] ) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). [3] It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1864. [4] It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the Pacific Ocean, including the East Indies, the Society Islands, the Mariana Islands, Queensland, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Japan, and India. It dwells at a depth range of 2–15 metres, and inhabits reefs. It forms burrows in mud and sand, and forages during the night. Males can reach a maximum total length of 115 centimetres. [3]

Eel order of fishes

An eel is any ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage, and most are predators. The term “eel” originally referred to the European eel, and the name of the order means “European eel-shaped.”

Ophichthidae family of fishes

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, they have long, cylindrical snakelike 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 of above 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.

Pieter Bleeker Dutch medical doctor, ichthyologist and herpetologist (1819-1878)

Pieter Bleeker was a Dutch medical doctor, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He was famous for the Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises, his monumental work on the fishes of East Asia published between 1862 and 1877.

The Dark-shouldered snake eel is of no commercial interest to fisheries, but is sometimes caught in nets in the Ryukyu Islands. [3]

Ryukyu Islands Chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan

The Ryukyu Islands, also known as the Nansei Islands or the Ryukyu Arc, are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands, with Yonaguni the westernmost. The larger are mostly high islands and the smaller mostly coral. The largest is Okinawa Island.

Related Research Articles

<i>Ophichthus</i> genus of fishes

Ophichthus is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae.

Ordinary snake eel species of fish

The Ordinary snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1864, originally under the genus Echelus. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Western Pacific, including Vietnam, Japan, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, and Australia. It inhabits sandy sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 39 centimetres (15 in).

The dark deepwater snake-eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker and Chen Yu-Yun in 2000. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from Taiwan, in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 36–1350 m, and inhabits sand and mud. Specimens have been observed in burrows with only their heads exposed, or resting on sediment with their bodies curved in an S shape. Females can reach a maximum total length of 62.8 cm.

Napoleon snake eel species of fish

The Napoleon snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856, originally under the genus Poecilocephalus. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including Durban, South Africa, Mauritius, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, and the Penghu Islands. It is known to dwell at a depth of 20 metres (66 ft), and inhabits lagoons and reefs; it forms solitary burrows in sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 75 centimetres (30 in).

Ophichthus celebicus is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1856, originally under the genus Ophisurus. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western Pacific Ocean, including India and Hong Kong.

The Dusky snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Camillo Ranzani in 1839. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including Cuba and Brazil.

The death-banded snake-eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Samuel Garman in 1899. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including the central Gulf of California, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama. It dwells at a depth range of 35–760 metres, and forms burrows in sandy and muddy bottoms. Males can reach a maximum total length of 86 centimetres.

Shrimp eel species of fish

The shrimp eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Francis de Laporte de Castelnau in 1855. It is a common inshore species of eel usually found in the shallow Gulf of Mexico and the high-salinity bays where it inhabits muddy habitats.

The Faintsaddled snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker and Eugenia Brandt Böhlke in 1984. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling eel which is known from the western central Atlantic Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth of 108 metres.

Evermanns snake eel species of fish

The Evermann's snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Robert Earl Richardson in 1908. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western Pacific Ocean. It inhabits inshore soft bottoms.

The Bigfin snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1853. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific. It dwells at a depth range of 0–25 metres, and inhabits sand and mud. Males can reach a maximum total length of 92 centimetres.

The many-eyed snake-eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1864. It is a tropical, marine and freshwater-dwelling eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including East Africa and the Hawaiian Islands. It dwells at a depth range of 2 to 25 metres, and inhabits sand and rubble sediments near coral reefs. Males can reach a maximum total length of 62.5 centimetres (24.6 in).

Punctuated snake-eel species of fish

The Punctuated snake-eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Achille Valenciennes in 1837, originally under the genus Ophisurus. It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Nicaragua, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama. It dwells at a depth range of 15 to 277 metres, and inhabits sand and mud sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 85 centimetres (33 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 60 centimetres (24 in).

The wrinkled 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 the Galapagos Islands and the Cocos Islands. It is also speculated to occur in Malpelo Island. It is known to dwell at a depth of 200 metres (660 ft), and inhabits sediments of sand and rubble. Males can reach a maximum total length of 68 centimetres (27 in).

The olive snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1853, originally under the genus Ophisurus. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific. It forms burrows in soft sediments in shallow waters, and leads a nocturnal lifestyle. Males can reach a maximum total length of 95 centimetres (37 in).

Ophichthus singapurensis is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Pieter Bleeker in either 1864 or 1865. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western Pacific Ocean.

Pacific snake-eel species of fish

The Pacific snake-eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856, originally under the genus Muraenopsis. It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including California, USA, Peru, the Gulf of California, Mexico, the Galapagos Islands, Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama. It dwells at a maximum depth of 155 metres (509 ft), and forms burrows in mud and sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 115 centimetres (45 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 80 centimetres (31 in).

Manetail snake eel species of fish

The Manetail snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Coenraad Jacob Temminck and Hermann Schlegel in 1846, originally under the genus Conger. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific. It inhabits deep waters, but is found in muddy sediments in shallow waters on rare occasions. Males can reach a maximum total length of 61.5 centimetres (24.2 in).

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 88 cm (35 in), but more commonly reach a length of 50 cm (20 in).

Yirrkala moluccensis is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1864, originally under the genus Pisoodonophis. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from Indonesia, in the western central Pacific Ocean.

References

  1. ↑ Synonyms of Ophichthus cephalozona at www.fishbase.org.
  2. ↑ Common names for Ophichthus cephalozona at www.fishbase.org.
  3. 1 2 3 Ophichthus cephalozona at www.fishbase.org.
  4. ↑ Bleeker, P., 1864-65 [ref. 4860] Atlas ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises, publié sous les auspices du Gouvernement colonial néêrlandaises. Tome IV. Murènes, Synbranches, Leptocéphales. v. 4: 1-150, Pls. 145-193.


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