Nemichthys | |
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Slender Snipe Eel, Nemichthys scolopaceus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Anguilliformes |
Family: | Nemichthyidae |
Genus: | Nemichthys Richardson, 1848 [1] |
Type species | |
Nemichthys scolopaceus Richardson, 1848 [1] | |
Species | |
See text | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Nemichthys is a genus of eels in the snipe-eel family Nemichthyidae. It currently contains the following species:
The slender snipe eel, also known as the deep sea duck, is a fish that can weigh only a few ounces, yet reach 5 feet or 1.5 m in length. Features include a bird-like beak with curving tips, covered with tiny hooked teeth, which they use to sweep through the water to catch shrimp and other crustaceans. It has a lifespan of ten years.
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.
Snipe eels are a family, Nemichthyidae, of eels that consists of nine species in three genera. They are pelagic fishes, found in every ocean, mostly at depths of 300–600 m (980–1,970 ft) but sometimes as deep as 4,000 m (13,000 ft). Depending on the species, adults may reach 1–2 m (39–79 in) in length, yet they weigh only 80–400 g (2.8–14.1 oz). They are distinguished by their very slender jaws that separate toward the tips as the upper jaw curves upward. The jaws appear similar to the beak of the bird called the snipe. Snipe eels are oviparous, and the juveniles, called Leptocephali, do not resemble the adults but have oval, leaf-shaped and transparent bodies. Different species of snipe eel have different shapes, sizes and colors. The similarly named bobtail snipe eel is actually in a different family and represented by two species, the black Cyema atrum and the bright red Neocyema erythrosoma.
The avocet snipe eel is a snipe eel of the family Nemichthyidae, found in all oceans except the Mediterranean and the eastern Pacific, at depths between 50 and 4,500 m. Their length is up to 75 centimetres (2.46 ft).
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.
Anguilloidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Anguilliformes, the eels.
Leptocephalus is a genus that was used for species of larval eels, called leptocephali, that were thought to be new fish species, or whose adult eel species were not known. Leptocephali differ so much in appearance from their adults that the larvae and adults of eels are not easily matched, and when first discovered, leptocephali were thought to be a distinct type of fishes, but not eels. Because of this, the genus designation of Leptocephalus was used for a while for unidentified leptocephali even after it was known that these were the larvae of eels thus becoming a "wastebasket taxon", but this practice is no longer used. Examples of marine congrid larvae, found in the western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea that were named this way are listed below. Only two species in two families are currently treated as having any validity, though the validity of L. bellottii is strongly in doubt.
Nemichthys curvirostris, the boxer snipe eel, is a snipe eel of the family Nemichthyidae. Like other snipe eels, they have incredibly narrow and elongated bodies, and small fins.
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.
Avocettina is a genus of eels in the snipe-eel family Nemichthyidae. It currently contains the following species:
Labichthys is a genus of eels in the snipe-eel family Nemichthyidae. It currently contains the following species:
The Gilbert's garden eel, also known as the Gilbert's conger and the sharpnose conger, is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by James Douglas Ogilby in 1898, originally under the genus Congrellus. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including the Gulf of California, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Colombia. It is a benthic and nocturnal species, and inhabits sand flats in reefs, bays and coves at a depth range of 1–100 metres. It burrows into sand during the day and emerges to forage during the night. Males can reach a maximum total length of 27 centimetres.
The Bullish conger is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by David G. Smith and Robert H. Kanazawa in 1977, originally under the genus Rhechias. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the Gulf of Mexico to the Amazon, in the western Atlantic Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 366–475 meters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 39.5 centimeters.
Gnathophis grahami, or Graham's conger, is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Emma Stanislavovna Karmovskaya and John Richard Paxton in 2000. It is a subtropical, marine eel which is known from New South Wales, Australia, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 50–350 metres.
Avocettina acuticeps, the southern snipe eel or southern fintail snipe eel, is an eel in the family Nemichthyidae. It was described by Charles Tate Regan in 1916, originally under the genus Leptocephalus. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from throughout the southern regions of the ocean, with the exception of the eastern Pacific. It is known to dwell at a maximum depth of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). Males can reach a maximum total length of 77 centimetres (30 in).
Avocettina bowersii is an eel in the family Nemichthyidae. It was described by Samuel Garman in 1899. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from California, U.S.A.; Peru, and Chile. It dwells at a depth range of 92–641 metres, although the type specimen was collected from a depth of 2,692 metres.
Avocettina paucipora is an eel in the family Nemichthyidae. It was described by Jørgen G. Nielsen and David G. Smith in 1978. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling eel which is known from the southwestern Atlantic, southern Indian, and the Pacific Ocean. They can reach a maximum total length of 55 centimetres.
The Yano's snipe eel is an eel in the family Nemichthyidae. It was described by Giles Willis Mead and Ira Rubinoff in 1966, originally under the genus Avocettinops. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from New Zealand, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
The thread eel is an eel in the family Nemichthyidae. It was described by Marie-Louise Bauchot in 1959. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific and Chile in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth of 1,750 metres (5,740 ft).