Duck-billed eel
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Nettastomatidae
Genus: Nettastoma
Species:
N. parviceps
Binomial name
Nettastoma parviceps
Günther, 1877
Synonyms[1]
  • Metopomycter parviceps (Günther, 1877)
  • Metopomycter denticulatus Gilbert, 1905
  • Nettastoma denticulatus (Gilbert, 1905)

The duck-billed eel (Nettastoma parviceps), also known as the shortsnouted sorcerer or the smallhead duckbill eel,[2] is an eel in the family Nettastomatidae (duckbill/witch eels).[3] It was described by Albert Günther in 1877.[4] It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel, which is known from the Indo-Pacific and the southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Japan, Hawaii, eastern Australia, southeastern Africa, and Chile. It dwells at a depth range of 60–1190 metres, and inhabits the continental shelf and slope. Males can reach a maximum total length of 83 centimetres.[3]

The species epithet "parviceps" means "little head" in Latin, and refers to the eel's head being somewhat smaller than that of Nettastoma melanura, which was the only other species in the genus known to the author. The duck-billed eel is of no commercial interest to fisheries.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Synonyms of Nettastoma parviceps at www.fishbase.org.
  2. ↑ Common names for Nettastoma parviceps at www.fishbase.org.
  3. 1 2 3 Nettastoma parviceps at www.fishbase.org.
  4. ↑ Günther, A., 1877 (1 Nov.) [ref. 2009] Preliminary notes on new fishes collected in Japan during the expedition of H. M. S. `Challenger.'. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (Series 4) v. 20 (no. 119) (art. 56): 433-446.
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