Letharchus | |
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Letharcus velifur (top) | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Anguilliformes |
Family: | Ophichthidae |
Subfamily: | Ophichthinae |
Genus: | Letharchus Goode & T. H. Bean, 1882 |
Type species | |
Letharchus velifer Goode & T. H. Bean, 1882 [1] | |
Species | |
See text. | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Letharchus is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It currently contains the following species:
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.
Myrichthys is a genus of snake eels currently containing 11 recognized species found in tropical and warm temperate oceans worldwide.
Apterichtus is a genus of fish in the family Ophichthidae. Many of its species are called finless eels.
Brachysomophis is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae.
Callechelys is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It currently contains the following fifteen species:
Echelus is a genus of eels in the snake-eel family Ophichthidae.
Ethadophis is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It currently contains the following species:
Gordiichthys is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It currently contains the following species:
Myrophis is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae.
Pseudomyrophis is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It currently contains the following species:
Scolecenchelys is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae.
Xyrias is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It currently contains the following species:
Yirrkala is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It is named after Yirrkala, an indigenous community in Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia.
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".
Letharchus aliculatus 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 Brazil in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth range of 0 to 1 metre, and inhabit sand sediments and rock tides. Males can reach a maximum total length of 21.5 centimetres (8.5 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 American sailfin eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean in 1882. It is a subtropical, marine eel which is known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including the United States and the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. It frequently inhabits scallop grounds. Males can reach a maximum total length of 51 centimeters.
The Sailfin eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Raymond Carroll Osburn and John Treadwell Nichols in 1916, originally under the genus Letharchus. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central Pacific Ocean, including Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama. It is known to dwell at a depth of 35 metres (115 ft), and inhabits rock and sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 81 centimetres (32 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.
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).