Herpetoichthys fossatus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Anguilliformes |
Family: | Ophichthidae |
Genus: | Herpetoichthys |
Species: | H. fossatus |
Binomial name | |
Herpetoichthys fossatus | |
Synonyms [2] | |
Pogonophis fossatusMyers & Wade, 1941 |
Herpetoichthys fossatus, the mustachioed snake-eel, is a species of eel in the family Ophichthidae. It is found in the Gulf of California. [3]
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.
Cutthroat eels are a family, Synaphobranchidae, of eels, the only members of the suborder Synaphobranchoidei. They are found worldwide in temperate and tropical seas.
Cyema is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the monotypic family Cyematidae. The only species in the genus is Cyema atrum, the arrow eel, bobtail eel, bobtail snipe eel or deepwater eel. This species has circumglobal distribution.
The wolf eel is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Anarhichadidae, the wolf fishes. It is found in the North Pacific Ocean. Despite its common name and resemblance, it is not a true eel. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Anarrhichthys.
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.
The panamic green moray eel is a large moray eel in the Pacific. Common names also include chestnut moray eel.
Herpetoichthys is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the subfamily Ophichthinae, the snake eels, in the family Ophichthidae, which also includes the worm eels. These eels are found in the Eastern pacific and Eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Hyphalophis is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ophichthidae, the snake eels. The only member of this genus is Hyphalophis devius, a species known only from its holotype which was collected in the Lesser Antilles southwest of Grenada.
Kertomichthys is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ophichthidae, the snake eels. The only member of this genus is Kertomichthys blastorhinos, a species known only from its holotype which was collected in the Atlantic Ocean in the vicinity of French Guiana.
Eels are elongated fish, ranging in length from five centimetres (2 in) to four metres (13 ft). Adults range in weight from 30 grams to over 25 kilograms. They possess no pelvic fins, and many species also lack pectoral fins. The dorsal and anal fins are fused with the caudal or tail fin, forming a single ribbon running along much of the length of the animal. Most eels live in the shallow waters of the ocean and burrow into sand, mud, or amongst rocks. A majority of eel species are nocturnal and thus are rarely seen. Sometimes, they are seen living together in holes, or "eel pits". Some species of eels live in deeper water on the continental shelves and over the slopes deep as 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). Only members of the family Anguillidae regularly inhabit fresh water, but they too return to the sea to breed.
The brighteye cusk-eel or rainbow cusk eel, is a fish species in the family Ophidiidae. Widespread in the Gulf of California and adjacent offshores along the coast of Mexico to Banderas Bay. Marine subtropical demersal fish, up to 25 cm (9.8 in) long.
The basketweave cusk-eel is a fish species in the family Ophidiidae. It is widespread in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Point Arguello in California, United States, to Baja California. The basketweave cusk-eel is a marine subtropical demersal fish that can be up to 28 centimetres (11 in) long. The specific name honors the journalist and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps (1836-1932) one of the founders of the Scripps Research Institute.
Scolecenchelys puhioilo is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker in 1979, originally under the genus Muraenichthys. The specific name puhioilo is derived from Hawaiian puhi oilo, which refers to "small eels about as large in diameter as a finger".
Apterichtus equatorialis, the finless eel or equatorial eel, is a species of snake eel native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, from the Gulf of California to Panama and around the Galapagos Islands. This species can be found at depths of from 106 to 125 metres inhabiting areas with bottoms of sand or mud. This species can reach a length of 27 centimetres (11 in) TL.
The Snack eel is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ophichthidae, the worm and snake eels. It was described by Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt and John E. McCosker in 1970. It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known from a single specimen discovered in Mexico, in the eastern central Pacific Ocean. From the holotype, which was found in the stomach of a White seabass, males are known to reach a total length of 53 centimetres (21 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 Vulture sand eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Max Carl Wilhelm Weber and Lieven Ferdinand de Beaufort in 1916, originally under the genus Sphagebranchus. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including Mascarenes, Pitcairn, Japan, Australia, Micronesia, and Easter Island. It dwells in inshore waters at a depth range of 2 to 18 metres, and forms burrows in soft, sandy sediments.
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 ornate snake eel, also known as the sea snake in St. Helena is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John Richardson in 1848, originally under the genus Ophisurus. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Mauritania, St. Helena, and Ascension Island. It inhabits the continental shelf, where it forms burrows in sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 90 centimetres (35 in).
Pylorobranchus hearstorum, the gigantic worm eel, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Myrophinae, the worm eels, in the family Ophichthidae, which also includes the snake eels. This species is known from a single specimen, the holotype collected from the Verde Island Passage in the Philippines at 13.583-13.575°N, 120.382-120.411°E from a depth between 892 and 966 m. The species was described in 2014 by the American marine biologist John E. McCosker. The specific name honours the friends of McCosker and philanthropists William and Margaret Hearst, who sponsored the expedition the holotype was collected on. This single known specimen of this species had a total length of 121.8 cm (48.0 in).