| Myrophinae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Myrophis punctatus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Ophichthidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrophinae Kaup, 1856 [1] |
| genera | |
See text | |
Myrophinae, the worm eels, is a subfamily of ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Ophichthidae, which also includes the snake eels in the subfamily Ophichthinae.
Myrophinae was first proposed as a subfamily by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856. [1] It is one of two subfamilies, alongside the subfamily Ophichthinae in the family Ophichthidae, which is classified within the suborder Congroidei within the eel order Anguilliformes. [2]
The Myrophinae contains the following genera: [2]
Myrophinae, the worm eels, are characterised by having construicted gill openings which are located in the mid flank benhind the head. They have obvious caudal fin raysand these are joined to the anal and dorsal fins. The tip of the tail is flexible, a pectoral fins may be present or they may be absent. The colouration is uniform, although they are often darker on the back. [5]
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.
The superorder Elopomorpha contains a variety of types of fishes that range from typical silvery-colored species, such as the tarpons and ladyfishes of the Elopiformes and the bonefishes of the Albuliformes, to the long and slender, smooth-bodied eels of the Anguilliformes. The one characteristic uniting this group of fishes is they all have leptocephalus larvae, which are unique to the Elopomorpha. No other fishes have this type of larvae.
Notacanthidae, the deep-sea spiny eels, are a family of fishes found worldwide below 125 m (410 ft), and as deep as 3,500 m (11,500 ft).
Sawtooth eels are a family, Serrivomeridae, of eels found in temperate and tropical seas worldwide.
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.
Monognathus, or onejaw, is the only genus of the family Monognathidae of deep-sea eels. The name comes from the Greek monos meaning “one” and gnathos meaning “jaw”, a reference to the large mouth in comparison with the rest of the fish, and also the absence of an upper jaw.
Caranginae is a subfamily of ray-finned fish from the family Carangidae which consists of twenty genera and 103 species.
The Chlopsidae, or false morays, are a family of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Anguilliformes, the eels. The eels in this family arefound in coral reefs worldwide. As their name suggests, they somewhat resemble moray eels in appearance. However, they are smaller than true morays, ranging from 11 to 42 cm in length.
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.
Mixomyrophis is a genus of eel in the family Ophichthidae. It is known only from the Atlantic Ocean and Red Sea in the vicinity of Anguilla and Israel.
Muraenichthys is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae.
Neenchelys is a genus of snake eels native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. All species of Neenchelys have two rather than three preopercular pores, a significant character among many species of ophichthids.
Ophichthus is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae.
Scolecenchelys is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae.
Skythrenchelys is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae.
Uropterygiinae is a subfamily of moray eels.
Congroidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Anguilliformes, the eels. These eels are mostly marine, although a few species of snake eel will enter freshwater, and they are found in tropical and tempareate waters throughout the world.
The Taiwanese worm eel is a species of ophichthid fish found in Taiwan. This species is only known from northeastern and southwestern Taiwan. This species is the only member of the genus Sympenchelys.
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).