Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Anguilliformes
(Eels and morays) > Ophichthidae
(Snake eels) > Ophichthinae
Etymology: Ophichthus: Greek, ophis = serpent + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Marine; demersal; depth range 0 - 150 m (Ref. 5217), usually 5 - 40 m (Ref. 5217). Tropical; 37°N - 27°S, 90°W - 34°W
Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA and northeast Gulf of Mexico to Brazil; absent from the Bahamas and most islands of the Caribbean.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 81.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217); common length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5217)
Occurs from shore to deep waters, but rare in shallow water (Ref. 7251). On the continental shelf of South America, this species is said to be common between 5 and 40 m depths (Ref. 5217).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea and W.B. Scott, 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. Am. Fish. Soc. Spec. Publ. (20):183 p. (Ref. 3814)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 119314)
CITES (Ref. 115941)
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
Estimates of some properties based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969
): 22.5 - 28, mean 25.4 (based on 364 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00138 (0.00059 - 0.00325), b=2.92 (2.71 - 3.13), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 4.0 ±0.7 se; Based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Moderate vulnerability (38 of 100) .