Pacific spoon-nose eel
| Pacific spoon-nose eel | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Ophichthidae |
| Genus: | Echiophis |
| Species: | E. brunneus |
| Binomial name | |
| Echiophis brunneus (Castro-Aguirre & Suárez de los Cobos, 1983) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
The Pacific spoon-nose eel (Echiophis brunneus, also known commonly as the Fangjaw eel in Mexico[2]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[3] It was described by José Luis Castro-Aguirre and Sergio Suárez de los Cobos in 1983, originally under the genus Notophtophis.[4] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including the Gulf of California, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Panama.[5] It dwells at a maximum depth of 10 metres (33 ft), and inhabits sand and mud sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 140 centimetres (55 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 60 centimetres (24 in).[3]
Due to its wide distribution, lack of known major threats, and lack of observed population decline, the IUCN redlist currently lists the Pacific spoon-nose eel as Least Concern.[5] It is sometimes caught as by-catch by trawlers, but is usually discarded.[5]
References
- ↑ Synonyms of Echiophis brunneus at www.fishbase.org.
- ↑ Common names of Echiophis brunneus at www.fishbase.org.
- 1 2 Echiophis brunneus at www.fishbase.org.
- ↑ Castro-Aguirre, J. L. and S. Suárez de los Cobos, 1983 (Dec.) [ref. 5313] Notophtophis brunneus, nuevo género y especie de la familia Ophichthidae, (Pisces: Anguilliformes) hallado en la Bahía de Acapulco, Guerrero, México. Anales de la Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas México v. 27: 113-128.
- 1 2 3 Echiophis brunneus at the IUCN redlist.