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.
Apterichtus is a genus of fish in the family Ophichthidae. Many of its species are called finless eels.
Bascanichthys is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It currently contains the following species:
Brachysomophis is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae.
Echelus is a genus of eels in the snake-eel family Ophichthidae.
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.
Pisodonophis is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae.
Scolecenchelys is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae.
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.
Neenchelys cheni is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Johnson T. F. Chen and Herman Ting-Chen Weng in 1967, originally under the genus Myrophis. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling eel which is known from Taiwan, in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Males can reach a maximum standard length of 35 centimetres (14 in).
McCosker's worm eel is a species of fish in the worm eel family Ophichthidae. It was first described by Yusuke Hibino, Ho Hsuan-Ching, and Seishi Kimura in 2012. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the northwestern Pacific Ocean, including Taiwan and Japan. It dwells at a depth range of 100 to 400 metres, and leads a benthic lifestyle; it is collected by bottom trawlers. Males can reach a maximum total length of 52.2 centimetres (20.6 in).
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.
The rice-paddy eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton in 1822, originally in the genus Ophisurus. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the Indo-West Pacific, including Somalia, Tanzania, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Polynesia, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Kenya, Madagascar, the Philippines, Malaysia, Mozambique, Seychelles, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and southern Yemen. It is an anadromous species and spawns in freshwater, often in rice paddies during the rainy season, earning it its common name. It also spends time in lagoons, estuaries and coastal rivers, in which it lives in burrows in the river bottom and bank. Males can reach a maximum total length (TL) of 100 centimetres, but more commonly reach a TL of 70 cm.
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.
Ophichthus bicolor, the bicolored snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae, found around Taiwan. This species reaches a length of 92.7 cm (36.5 in).
Ophichthus shaoi, the long-bodied snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It is found around Taiwan. This species reaches a length of 62.3 cm (24.5 in).
Ophichthus vietnamensis is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It is found on the central Vietnamese coast. This species reaches a length of 38 cm (15 in).
The many-vertebrae snake eel is a species of ray-finned fish native to the Northwest Pacific.
