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 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Ophichthidae |
| Genus: | Ophichthus |
| Species: | O. apachus
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| Binomial name | |
| Ophichthus apachus J. E. McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1998
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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
edit- ^ Common names of Ophichthus apachus at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ a b c d Ophichthus apachus at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Ophichthus apachus at the IUCN redlist.
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