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.
Uropterygius fasciolatus is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the western central Pacific Ocean. It was first named by Regan in 1909, and is commonly known as the blotched moray, barred moray, or the Gosline's snake moray.
Ichthyapus is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae.
The flatnose xenocongrid eel, flat-nosed xenocongrid eel, or flat-nosed conger eel, Chilorhinus platyrhynchus, is an eel in the family Chlopsidae. It was described by John Roxborough Norman in 1922, originally under the genus Brachyconger. It is a tropical marine eel which is known from the Pacific Ocean. It typically dwells at depths from 5 to 25 m, and leads a benthic lifestyle. Males can reach a maximum standard length of 17.8 cm.
The duck-billed eel also known as the shortsnouted sorcerer or the smallhead duckbill eel, is an eel in the family Nettastomatidae. It was described by Albert Günther in 1877. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific and the southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Japan, Hawaii, eastern Australia, southeastern Africa, and Chile. It dwells at a depth range of 60–1190 metres, and inhabits the continental shelf and slope. Males can reach a maximum total length of 82 centimetres.
The Broadnose worm eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Charles Marcus Breder Jr. in 1927. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the western central Atlantic Ocean, including Bermuda, the Bahamas, Cuba, Lesser Antilles, Belize, and Brazil. It is known to dwell at a depth of 186 metres, and inhabits protected or semi-protected bays and tidal creeks. Males can reach a maximum total length of 21 centimetres (8.3 in).
The Johnston snake eel, also known as the peppered worm eel in Micronesia and Hawaii is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Leonard Peter Schultz and Loren Paul Woods in 1949. It is a marine, tropical eel, which is known from the Indo-Pacific region, including the Chagos Islands, Hawaii, the Marquesan Islands, the Society Islands, Australia, and New Caledonia. It dwells at a depth range of 2–23 m, and inhabits sand sediments in coral reefs. It can reach a maximum total length of 35 cm.
The reptilian snake eel, also known as Henshaw's snake eel, the Hawaiian crocodile eel or the crocodile snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and John Otterbein Snyder in 1904.
Callechelys lutea, the freckled snake eel or yellow-spotted snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John Otterbein Snyder in 1904.
The fringelip snake-eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Albert Günther in 1870. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including Zanzibar, Tanzania, Kosi Bay, South Africa, and the Hawaiian Islands. Its lifestyle is mostly benthic but it sometimes swims at the surface. It is olive brown in colour, with lighter colouring in the ventral region. Males can reach a maximum total length of 39 centimetres (15 in).
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.
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 saddled snake-eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by George Tradescant Lay and Edward Turner Bennett in 1839, originally under the genus Ophisurus. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific and southeastern Atlantic Ocean, including East and South Africa, the Hawaiian Islands, the Marquesan Islands, the Mangaréva islands, Japan, and Australia. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 70 metres, most often around 0 to 10 metres, and inhabits lagoons and reefs, in which it forms burrows in beds of seagrass and sandy areas. Males can reach a maximum total length of 66 centimetres (2.17 ft).
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 Pisoodonophis. 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 many-eyed snake eel is a species of 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 of 2 to 25 metres, and inhabits sand and rubble sediments near coral reefs. Males can reach a total length of 62.5 centimetres (24.6 in).
The Flappy snake-eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae, and the only species in the genus Phyllophichthus. It was described by William Alonzo Gosline III in 1951. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including East Africa, the Hawaiian Islands, the Marquesan Islands, the Society Islands, the Caroline Islands and the Marshall Islands. It dwells at a depth range of 8–30 metres, and inhabits reefs and inshore waters. It leads a benthic lifestyle, and forms burrows. Males can reach a maximum total length of 42 centimetres.
Dysomma goslinei is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by Catherine H. Robins and Charles Richard Robins in 1976. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific. Males can reach a maximum total length of 19.7 centimetres.
Meadia abyssalis, the abyssal cutthroat eel, is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by Toshiji Kamohara in 1938. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including Brazil, the Hancock Seamount, the Hawaiian and Society islands, Japan, Mauritius, and Réunion. It is found off the continental slope, and dwells at a depth range of 100–329 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 73 centimetres.
The Kaup's arrowtooth eel is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by James Yate Johnson in 1862. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the Indo-Western Pacific and eastern and western Atlantic Ocean, including the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Cape Verde, the Western Sahara, Nigeria, Namibia, South Africa, Greenland, France, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Philippines, Portugal, Spain, the Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Japan, Australia, Mauritania, Morocco, and Hawaii. It dwells at a depth range of 120 to 4,800 metres, most often between 400 to 2,200 metres, and inhabits the upper abyssal zone on the continental slope. It is intolerant of the temperatures of higher waters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 100 centimetres (39 in).
