Cutthroat eels are a family, Synaphobranchidae, of eels, the only members of the suborder Synaphobranchoidei. They are found worldwide in temperate and tropical seas.
Meadia is a genus of eels in the cutthroat eel family Synaphobranchidae. It currently contains the following species:
The Highlands long-finned eel is an eel in the family Anguillidae. It was described by Gilbert Percy Whitley in 1938. It is a tropical eel known from freshwaters in eastern New Guinea. The eels spend most of their lives in freshwater but migrate to the ocean to breed. Males can reach a maximum total length of 80 centimetres.
Parabathymyrus macrophthalmus is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Toshiji Kamohara in 1938. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the Indo-West Pacific, including Japan, Taiwan, the South China Sea, and Indonesia. Males can reach a maximum total length of 47 centimetres.
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 dark-shouldered snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1864. 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.
Atractodenchelys phrix, known under the common name "arrowtooth eel" is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by Catherine H. Robins and Charles Richard Robins in 1970. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from its type locality in the eastern Caribbean, in the western central Atlantic Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth range of 385–425 metres.
Atractodenchelys robinsorum is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by Emma Stanislavovna Karmovskaya in 2003. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the Chesterfield Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth of 710 metres.
Dysomma anguillare, the shortbelly eel, stout moray, mustard eel or arrowtooth eel, is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by Keppel Harcourt Barnard in 1923. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western Atlantic Ocean and Indo-Western Pacific, including the United States, Venezuela, South Africa, Zanzibar, and Japan. It lives at a depth range of 30 to 270 metres, and inhabits muddy sediments in coastal waters and large rivermouths. Males can reach a maximum total length of 52 centimetres (20 in).
Dysomma brevirostre, the pignosed arrowtooth eel or batnose eel, is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by Luigi Facciolà in 1887. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the eastern and western Atlantic Ocean, including Madeira Island, the Gulf of Guinea, the Ligurian Sea, Italy, and Florida and Hawaii, USA. It dwells at a depth range of 200 to 1,000 metres, and inhabits soft sediments on the continental slope. Males can reach a maximum total length of 30 centimetres (12 in).
Dysomma dolichosomatum is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by Christine Karrer in 1983. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific. It dwells at a depth range of 550–555 metres.
Dysomma muciparus is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by Alfred William Alcock in 1891. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific. It is known to dwell at a depth range of 439–505 metres.
Dysommina proboscideus is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by Einar Hagbart Martin Lea in 1913. It is a subtropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern central Atlantic Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth of 150 metres.
Histiobranchus australis, the southern cut-throat eel is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by Regan in 1913. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the southern Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 950 to 3,001 metres, and leads a benthic lifestyle. Males can reach a maximum total length of 62.8 centimetres (24.7 in), while females can reach a maximum TL of 67.0 centimetres (26.4 in).
Ilyophis blachei is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by Luiz Vieria Caldas Saldanha and Nigel Merrett in 1982. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the northeastern and southeastern Atlantic and southern Indian Ocean. It dwells at a depth range 580 to 2,070 metres, and inhabits the continental shelf. Males can reach a maximum total length of 79.2 centimetres (31.2 in).
Ilyophis nigeli is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by Yuri Nikolaevich Shcherbachev and Kenneth J. Sulak in 1997. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from Japan, in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth range of 700 to 1,800 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 51.3 centimetres (20.2 in).
Meadia roseni is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by Michael Hin-Kiu Mok, Chi-Ying Lee, and Hung-Jung Chan in 1991. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from Taiwan, in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth of 1,020 metres (3,350 ft). Males can reach a maximum total length of 74.5 centimetres (29.3 in).
The shortdorsal cutthroat eel is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by Albert Günther in 1887. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific and western central Atlantic Ocean, including Zanzibar, Maldives, Australia, Japan, Suriname, and the Gulf of Mexico. It dwells at a depth range of 900 to 3,000 metres, most often between 1,000 to 2,500 metres, and leads a benthic lifestyle, inhabiting the continental slope. Males can reach a maximum total length of 111 centimetres (44 in).
Synaphobranchus dolichorhynchus is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by Einar Hagbart Martin Lea in 1913, originally under the genus Leptocephalus. It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known solely from larval specimens discovered in the northern Atlantic Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth range of 100 to 150 metres.
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 and 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).
