Ophichthys

Not to be confused with Ophichthus.

Ophichthys
Ophichthys cuchia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Synbranchiformes
Family:	Synbranchidae
Subfamily:	Synbranchinae
Genus:	Ophichthys Swainson, 1839
Species
See text

Ophichthys is a genus of swamp eels native to South Asia. They live in freshwater or subterranean habitats, and some have a fossorial lifestyle. ^[1]

Taxonomy

All species in this genus were formerly classified in Monopterus , but a 2020 study found them to represent a distinct monophyletic clade from Monopterus. Due to this, the genus name Ophichthys, previously coined by William Swainson, was revived to be used for them. ^{[1] [2]} Ophichthys was formerly a wastebasket taxon used to lump in many unrelated species of eel-like fish (all of which are classified in separate genera today) and later synonymized with Monopterus until its resurrection. ^[3]

Species

• Ophichthys cuchia (F. Hamilton, 1822) (Gangetic swamp eel or Gangetic mud-eel) ^[4]
• Ophichthys desilvai ( R. M. Bailey & Gans, 1998) (lesser swamp eel or Desilvai's blind eel) ^[1]
• Ophichthys fossorius (K. K. Nayar, 1951) (Malabar swamp eel)
• Ophichthys hodgarti (B. L. Chaudhuri, 1913) (Indian spaghetti-eel) ^[5]
• Ophichthys ichthyophoides ( Britz, Lalremsanga, Lalrotluanga & Lalramliana, 2011) (scaled swamp eel) ^[6]
• Ophichthys indicus (Silas & E. Dawson, 1961) (Bombay swamp eel)
• Ophichthys terricolus

References

1. "Ophichthys desilvai, a poorly known synbranchid eel from Sri Lanka (Teleostei: Synbranchidae)". Pfeil Verlag (in German). Retrieved 2021-01-29.
2. "Taxonomy browser (Ophichthys)". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
3. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Ophichthys Swainson, 1839". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
4. Verma, Chandani R.; Gorule, Pankaj A.; Kumkar, Pradeep; Kharat, Sanjay S.; Gosavi, Sachin M. (October 2020). "Morpho-histochemical adaptations of the digestive tract in Gangetic mud-eel Ophichthys cuchia (Hamilton 1822) support utilization of mud-dwelling prey". Acta Histochemica. 122 (7) 151602. doi:10.1016/j.acthis.2020.151602. ISSN   1618-0372. PMID   33066830.
5. "Order SYNBRANCHIFORMES: Families SYNBRANCHIDAE, CHAUDHURIIDAE, MASTACEMBELIDAE and INDOSTOMIDAE". The ETYFish Project. 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
6. Britz, R., Lalremsanga, H.T., Lalrotluanga & Lalramliana (2011): Monopterus ichthyophoides, a new species of scaled swamp eel (Teleostei: Synbranchiformes: Synbranchidae) from Mizoram, India. Zootaxa, 2936: 51–58.