Sooty eel

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Sooty eel
Bascanichthys bascanium Full body.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Ophichthidae
Genus: Bascanichthys
Species:
B. bascanium
Binomial name
Bascanichthys bascanium
(Jordan, 1884)
Synonyms [1]
  • Caecula bascaniumJordan, 1884
  • Leptocephalus gilbertiEigenmann & Kennedy, 1902

The sooty eel [2] (Bascanichthys bascanium) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). [3] It was described by David Starr Jordan in 1884, originally under the genus Caecula . [4] It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including North Carolina and Florida, USA, and the Gulf of Mexico. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 27 metres (0 to 89 ft). Males can reach a maximum total length of 70 centimetres (2.3 ft). [3]

The sooty eel is preyed on by the Atlantic tripletail . [5]

Related Research Articles

Bascanichthys is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It currently contains the following species:

Kaupichthys hyoproroides, the false moray, common false moray, grey reef eel, reef eel, plain false moray, or double-toothed xenocongrid eel, is an eel in the family Chlopsidae. It was described by Pehr Hugo Strömman in 1896, originally under the genus Leptocephalus. It is a subtropical, marine eel which is known from coral reefs and rocky shores in the western Atlantic Ocean, including southeastern Florida, USA; the Bahamas, Yucatan, Mexico; the Antilles, and Venezuela. It is a benthic, solitary eel that typically dwells at depths to 95 m. Males can reach a maximum total length of 30 cm.

<i>Moringua edwardsi</i> Species of fish

Moringua edwardsi, the common spaghetti eel, is an eel in the family Moringuidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Charles Harvey Bollman in 1889, originally under the genus Stilbiscus. It is a subtropical, marine eel known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Florida, Venezuela, the Virgin Islands, British, and the Virgin Islands of the United States. Males can reach a maximum total length of 15 cm, while females can reach a maximum of 50 cm. The eels feed primarily off of burrowing invertebrates.

Gnathophis capensis, the Southern Atlantic conger or southern conger, is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856, originally under the genus Leptocephalus. It is a subtropical, marine eel which is known from the southeastern Atlantic Ocean, including from False Bay to Plettenberg Bay, South Africa and also on Tristan da Cunha Island. It is known to dwell at a depth of 100 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 37 cm.

The Sooty sand-eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Raymond Carroll Osburn and John Treadwell Nichols in 1916. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central Pacific Ocean, including Costa Rica and Mexico. It is known to dwell at a maximum depth of 20 metres (66 ft), and inhabits sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 77 centimetres (30 in).

Bascanichthys ceciliae is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache and Jean Cadenat in 1971. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern coastal Atlantic Ocean between Senegal and Angola. It inhabits shallow waters where it burrows in sand; the burrows are sometimes exposed during low tide. It can reach a maximum total length of 82.5 centimetres, but more commonly reaches a TL of 60 cm.

Bascanichthys congoensis is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache and Jean Cadenat in 1971. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known solely from Pointe Noire, Democratic Republic of Congo, in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It inhabits bays, where it burrows in mud and sand. Males can reach a maximum total length of 62.3 centimetres.

Bascanichthys fijiensis is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Alvin Seale in 1935. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from Fiji, in the western central Pacific Ocean.

Bascanichthys filaria is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Albert Günther in 1872. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from Irian Jaya, Indonesia, in the western central Pacific Ocean.

Bascanichthys longipinnis is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Rudolf Kner and Franz Steindachner in 1867. It is a tropical, marine and brackish water-dwelling eel which is known from the Indian and Pacific Ocean, including India, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa.

Bascanichthys paulensis is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Margaret Hamilton Storey in 1939. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from Sao Paulo, Brazil, in the western Atlantic Ocean.

The whip eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean in 1880. It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including the United States and the Gulf of Mexico. It inhabits reefs and coastal waters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 76 centimetres (30 in).

The Siboga snake eel is an eel from the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Max Carl Wilhelm Weber in 1913, originally under the genus Callechelys. It is a marine, tropical eel which is found off the south coast of Timor, Indonesia, in the western central Pacific Ocean. Males can reach a maximum total length of 23.7 centimetres (9.3 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blotched snake eel</span> Species of fish

The blotched snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann in 1887. It is a rare tropical, marine eel which is known from the western and northwestern Atlantic Ocean, including the United States, the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, and Canada. It dwells at a depth range of 27–115 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 60 centimetres.

The Horsehair eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by David Starr Jordan and Bradley Moore Davis in 1891. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western central Atlantic Ocean, including Florida, USA, the Gulf of Mexico and Puerto Rico. It dwells at a depth range of 90 to 200 meters, and inhabits sand and mud substrates. Males can reach a maximum total length of 76 centimeters (30 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saddled snake-eel</span> Species of fish

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldspotted eel</span> Species of fish

The goldspotted eel, also known as the goldspotted snake eel or the dark-spotted snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Charles Alexandre Lesueur in 1825, originally under the genus Muraenophis. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Bermuda, southern Florida, USA; the Bahamas, Santa Catarina, and Brazil. It dwells at a maximum depth of 15 metres (49 ft), and inhabits rocky and coral reefs. Males can reach a maximum total length of 110 centimetres (3.6 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bean's sawtooth eel</span> Species of fish

The Bean's sawtooth eel is an eel in the family Nemichthyidae. It was described by Theodore Gill and John Adam Ryder in 1883. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from throughout the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Western Pacific Ocean, including Iceland, South Africa, Réunion, and Australia. It dwells at a depth range of 0–5998 metres, and leads a solitary lifestyle. It migrates vertically at night. Males can reach a maximum total length of 78-80 centimetres, making it the largest sawtooth eel.

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).

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 to 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).

References

  1. Synonyms of Bascanichthys bascanium at www.fishbase.org.
  2. Common names of Bascanichthys bascanium at www.fishbase.org.
  3. 1 2 Bascanichthys bascanium at www.fishbase.org.
  4. Jordan, D. S., 1884 (22 Apr.) [ref. 10442] List of fishes from Egmont Key, Florida, in the Museum of Yale College, with description of two new species. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia v. 36: 42-46.
  5. Organisms Preying on Bascanichthys bascanium at www.fishbase.org.