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.
Gordiichthys is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It currently contains the following species:
The angry worm eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Peter Henry John Castle and John E. McCosker in 1999. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern Indian and western central Pacific Ocean, including India, Indonesia, the Straits of Malacca, northern Australia, and the Philippines. It is known to inhabit shallow, turbid estuaries, and to a lesser extent the deeper water over soft substrates. Males can reach a maximum total length of 29.6 centimetres.
The snaggle-toothed snake-eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker and David Ross Robertson in 2001. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from a single specimen collected from Panama, in the eastern central Pacific Ocean. From the specimen it is known to dwell at a depth range of 5–10 metres, and reach a maximum total length of 104 centimetres. Based on other eel species it is estimated to inhabit burrows on a permanent or semi-permanent basis, and feed on small fish and crustaceans.
Callechelys galapagensis, the Galapagos ridgefin eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker and Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt in 1972. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from four specimens collected from the Galapagos Islands, in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. It inhabits coral, sand and rock.
Callechelys springeri, the ridgefin eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Isaac Ginsburg in 1951, originally under the genus Gordiichthys. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern Gulf of Mexico, in the western Atlantic Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 22 to 36 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 80.1 centimeters (31.5 in).
The Indifferent eel is a species of eels in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker and James Erwin Böhlke in 1984. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western central Atlantic Ocean, including Panama, Nicaragua, Suriname, and Texas, USA. It dwells at a depth range of 55 to 58 meters.
The Irksone eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker, Eugenia Brandt Böhlke, and James Erwin Böhlke in 1989. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling eel which is known from a single specimen discovered in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, in the western central Atlantic Ocean. From the holotype, it is known to dwell at a depth range of 10 to 189 meters.
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 String eel is a species of eels in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker and James Erwin Böhlke in 1984. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling eel which is known from the western central and northwestern Atlantic Ocean, including Florida, USA; Puerto Rico, and Canada. It dwells at a depth range of 37 to 72 meters, and inhabits mud and sand sediments.
Gordiichthys randalli is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker and James Erwin Böhlke in 1984. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from Puerto Rico, in the western central Atlantic Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 8 to 12 metres, and inhabits sand and algal beds in shallow water.
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 also known as the Black sailfin eel in Mexico,) 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 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 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).
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 thin snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker and Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt in 1998. It is a marine, tropical eel known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Mexico and Colombia. It is known from two specimens observed dwelling in sand at a depth range of 0 to 8 m. The maximum length recorded was 23.1 cm (9.1 in), albeit on an immature specimen.
Ophichthus longipenis, known commonly as the slender snake eel in Mexico, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker and Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt in 1998. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central Pacific Ocean, including Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 69 metres, and inhabits sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 58.7 centimetres (23.1 in).
The longarmed snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker and Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt in 1998. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central Pacific Ocean, including Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama. It is known to dwell at a depth range of 24 to 79 metres, and inhabits soft substrates. Males can reach a maximum total length of 27.4 centimetres (10.8 in).
Ophichthus melope is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker and Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt in 1998. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Colombia and Costa Rica. It dwells at a depth range of 100 to 224 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 27 centimetres (11 in).
