Common Name
Blotched Snake Eel
Year Described
Jordan & Evermann, 1887
Identification
Vertebrae: 139-144
Body moderately elongate and compressed. Trunk longer than tail (60-63% TL). Snout bluntly 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 7-11. Dentary teeth 11-19. 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 pale tan, darkening posteriorly. Body with eye-sized dark spots, often rather faint anteriorly. Head plain with faint black spots on the top of the head. Lateral pores darker. Dorsal and anal fins dark basally with a pale margin. Eye pale blue.
Size
Maximum known size to 59cm TL.
Habitat
Found on sandy bottoms from 27-115m.
Range
North Carolina to the Yucatan Peninsula.
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.