Common Name
Stripe Eel
Year Described
Böhlke, 1967
Identification
Vertebrae: 148-152
Body moderately elongate and compressed. Trunk longer than tail. Snout pointed and overhangs jaw. Underside of snout smooth. Anterior nostril tubular on underside of snout. Posterior nostril opens in mouth. No median groove or raised platform on underside of snout between anterior nostrils. Teeth small and uniserial. Maxillary teeth 3-8. Dentary teeth 8-18. Vomerine teeth absent. Intermaxillary teeth absent. Gill openings low on body and converging anteriorly. Dorsal fin origin well before gill openings, low in height, and ending before ail tip. Anal fin present. Pectoral and caudal fins absent. Tail tip hard and pointed. Lateral line complete.
Color
Body whitish with a thick black lateral stripe that can be faint or dark. Stripe made up of close-set dark blotches. Head and anterior body with faint brownish spots. Lateral line pores darker. Gill pouch grooves and fin-folds darker. Dorsal fin with a thick dark border. anal fin pale. Eye pale yellow with a darker margin.
Size
Maximum size to 45cm TL.
Habitat
Inhabits shallow coastal waters (<17m) on sand and in seagrass beds.
Range
S. Florida to the Lesser Antilles, including all Caribbean islands.
References
Böhlke, J. E. 1967. The descriptions of three new eels from the tropical west Atlantic. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia v. 118 (no. 4): 91-108.
McCosker, J.E. 1998. A revision of the snake-eel genus Callechelys (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) with the description of two new Indo-Pacific species and a new Callechelyin genus. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 50(7):185-215.