Thin snake eel

The thin snake eel[1] (Ophichthus apachus) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae.[2] It was described by John E. McCosker and Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt in 1998.[3] It is a marine, tropical eel known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Mexico and Colombia.[2][4] It is known from two specimens observed dwelling in sand at a depth range of 0 to 8 m (0 to 26 ft). The maximum length recorded was 23.1 cm (9.1 in), albeit on an immature specimen.[2]

Thin snake eel
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Ophichthidae
Genus: Ophichthus
Species:
O. apachus
Binomial name
Ophichthus apachus

The species epithet apachus, meaning "without thickness" in Greek, refers to the eel's thin frame.[2] Due to the extremely minimal number of known specimens, and insufficient statistical data derived from them, the IUCN Redlist currently lists the thin snake eel as Data Deficient.[4]

References
  1. Common names of Ophichthus apachus at www.fishbase.org.
  2. Ophichthus apachus at www.fishbase.org.
  3. McCosker, J. E. and R. H. Rosenblatt, 1998 (18 Dec.) [ref. 23645] A revision of the eastern Pacific snake-eel genus Ophichthus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) with the description of six new species. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences v. 50 (no. 19): 397-432.
  4. Ophichthus apachus at the IUCN redlist.


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