Biology:Saddled snake-eel

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Short description: Species of fish

Saddled snake-eel
Leiuranussemicinctus.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Ophichthidae
Genus: Leiuranus
Species:
L. semicinctus
Binomial name
Leiuranus semicinctus
(Lay & Bennett, 1839)
Synonyms[1]
  • Ophisurus semicinctus Lay & Bennett, 1839
  • Liuranus semicinctus (Lay & Bennett, 1839)
  • Sphagebranchus cinctus Tanaka, 1908
  • Caecula cincta (Tanaka, 1908)
  • Machaerenchelys vanderbilti Fowler, 1938
  • Machaerenchelys phoenixensis Schultz, 1943
  • Leiuranus phoenixensis (Schultz, 1943)

The saddled snake-eel (Leiuranus semicinctus, also known commonly as the halfbanded snake-eel, the banded snake eel, or the culverin[2]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[3] It was described by George Tradescant Lay and Edward Turner Bennett in 1839, originally under the genus Ophisurus.[4] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific and southeastern Atlantic Ocean, including East and South Africa , the Hawaiian Islands, the Marquesan Islands, the Mangaréva islands, Japan , and Australia . It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 70 metres (0 to 230 ft), most often around 0 to 10 metres (0 to 33 ft), and inhabits lagoons and reefs, in which it forms burrows in beds of seagrass and sandy areas. Males can reach a maximum total length of 66 centimetres (2.17 ft).[3]

The saddled snake-eel's diet consists of fish, crabs, prawns,[3] and worms including Ptychodera.[5] Males and females rise to the surface of the water during spawning.[6]

References

  1. Synonyms of Leiuranus semicinctus at www.fishbase.org.
  2. Common names of Leiuranus semicinctus at www.fishbase.org.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Leiuranus semicinctus at www.fishbase.org.
  4. Lay, G. T. and E. T. Bennett, 1839 [ref. 2730] Fishes. Pp. 41-75, Pls. 15-23. In: F.W. Bechey (ed.) The zoology of Captain Beechey's voyage, comp. from the collections ... to the Pacific and Behring's Straits... in 1825-28. H. G. Bohn, London.
  5. Food items reported for Leiuranus semicinctus at www.fishbase.org.
  6. Reproduction of Leiuranus semicinctus at www.fishbase.org.

Wikidata ☰ Q2864793 entry