Common Name
Horsehair Eel
Year Described
Jordan & Davis, 1891
Identification
Vertebrae: 193-206
Body extremely elongate. Cylindrical anteriorly in cross-section but compressed posteriorly. Trunk much longer than tail. Snout bluntly rounded and overhangs mouth. Underside of snout with a toothed median groove reaching anterior nostrils. Eye small and around middle of jaw. Anterior nostril a simple flush hole (not tubular) with connecting groove. Posterior nostril opens under eye as a small slit in upper lip. Jaw teeth small and uniserial. Intermaxillary teeth (3) present. Vomerine teeth in a single row of 7 teeth. Gill openings crescent-shaped, low on body and converging anteriorly. Gill pouch and body distinctly grooved. Dorsal fin origin on top of head, low in height, and ending before tail tip. Anal fin present. Pectoral and caudal fins absent. Tail tip hard and pointed. Lateral line complete (186-189 pores). One temporal, 1 interorbital, 5 mandibular, and 2 preopercular pores.
Color
Color in alcohol pale brown with a peppered of dark melanophores.
Size
Maximum size to 56cm TL.
Habitat
Found in relatively deep water on soft bottoms (90-200m).
Range
Off Florida, the Yucatan Peninsula, and Puerto Rico.
References
McCosker, J. E., & J. E. Böhlke. 1984. A review of the snake eel genera Gordiichthys and Ethadophis, with descriptions of new species and comments on related Atlantic bascanichthyins (Pisces: Ophichthidae). Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 32-44.
Other Notes
The three very slender Gordiichthys can be best separated by lateral pore and vertebral counts (G. ergodes also has tubular nostrils). G. randalli is less slender and has biserial vomerine teeth.