Ophichthus tetratrema is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[1] It was described by John E. McCosker and Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt in 1998.[2] It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the eastern Pacific Ocean, including Costa Rica and Ecuador. It dwells at a depth range of 700 to 1,000 metres (2,300 to 3,300 ft). Females can reach a total length of 55.6 centimetres (21.9 in).[1]
| Ophichthus tetratrema | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Ophichthidae |
| Genus: | Ophichthus |
| Species: | O. tetratrema
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| Binomial name | |
| Ophichthus tetratrema J. E. McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1998
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The species epithet "tetratrema" means "four holed" in Greek, and is treated as a noun in apposition. It refers to the four preopercular pores on the eel.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c Ophichthus tetratrema 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.
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