Common Name
Shorttail Snake Eel
Year Described
Osorio, 1894
Identification
Vertebrae: 172-186
Body elongate and compressed. Trunk longer than tail (66-70% TL). Snout pointed and overhangs jaw. Anterior nostril tubular on underside of snout. Posterior nostril opens under eye on upper lip. Median groove on the underside of snout reaches to point forward of anterior nostril bases (common to all Callechelys). Teeth small and uniserial. Maxillary teeth 4-5. Dentary teeth 9-11. Vomerine teeth present. Intermaxillary teeth present. Head pores reduced to three supraorbital, two preopercular, and three supratemporal pores. Gill openings low on body and converging anteriorly. Dorsal fin origin well before gill openings, high in front, and ending before ail tip. Anal fin present. Pectoral and caudal fins absent. Tail tip hard and pointed. Lateral line complete.
Color
Body varies from white with a yellowish head to all whitish or pale yellow. Body and dorsal fin covered in various sized round dark brown to black spots and blotches. Groove on body and gill pouch darker. Blotches on body much larger than those on head. Anal fin with small black spots. Eye yellowish with a blue ring around the orbital margin.
Size
Maximum known size to 108cm TL.
Habitat
Inhabits shallow coastal waters on sandy bottoms (<15m) and seagrass beds.
Range
South Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea south to Venezuela.
References
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.
Other Notes
Callechelys perryae and C. pantherina are synonyms.