Dark-shouldered snake eel
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Ophichthidae
Genus: Ophichthus
Species:
O. cephalozona
Binomial name
Ophichthus cephalozona
Bleeker, 1864
Synonyms[1]
  • Ophichthys cephalozona Bleeker, 1864

The dark-shouldered snake eel (Ophichthus cephalozona, also known commonly as the headsaddle snake eel, the black-neck snake eel, the blacksaddle snake eel, or the one-banded snake-eel[2]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[3] It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1864.[4] It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the Pacific Ocean, including the East Indies, the Society Islands, the Mariana Islands, Queensland, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Japan, and India. It dwells at a depth range of 2–15 metres, and inhabits reefs. It forms burrows in mud and sand, and forages during the night. Males can reach a maximum total length of 115 centimetres.[3]

Dark-shouldered snake eel at Lembeh Strait, Indonesia

The dark-shouldered snake eel is of no commercial interest to fisheries, but is sometimes caught in nets in the Ryukyu Islands.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Synonyms of Ophichthus cephalozona at www.fishbase.org.
  2. ↑ Common names for Ophichthus cephalozona at www.fishbase.org.
  3. 1 2 3 Ophichthus cephalozona at www.fishbase.org.
  4. ↑ Bleeker, P., 1864-65 [ref. 4860] Atlas ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises, publié sous les auspices du Gouvernement colonial néêrlandaises. Tome IV. Murènes, Synbranches, Leptocéphales. v. 4: 1-150, Pls. 145-193.


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