Common Name
Black-spotted Snake Eel
Year Described
Studer, 1889
Identification
Vertebrae: 129-136
Body elongate and cylindrical. Trunk about same length as tail. Snout short, downturned and overhangs mouth. Eye over posterior third of jaw. Underside of snout with a toothed notch reaching anterior nostrils. Anterior nostril a well developed tube. Posterior nostril opens into mouth. Teeth slender and pointed. One row of teeth on maxillary (16-19) and dentary (15-19). Intermaxillary teeth present (6 large and two smaller). Vomer with one row of teeth (10-13). Gill openings crescent-shaped, low on body and close together. Dorsal fin origin behind gill slit. Anal fin present. Pectoral fin very small (less than eye diameter). Caudal fin absent. Tail tip hard and pointed. Lateral line complete. Head pores well developed.
Color
Body medium gray dorsally and whitish ventrally. Two rows of large, diffuse rusty-brown ocelli with dark centers, one row on the back and one row on side. Head pale with close-set dark brown spotting and dark bands between the eyes and on back of head. Area around pores on snout white. Dorsal and anal fins pale with random smaller blotches.
Size
Maximum size to 71cm TL.
Habitat
Shallow coastal waters on sand (2-12m).
Range
Bermuda, S. Florida to S. Brazil and the Caribbean islands.
References
Böhlke, E. B. (ed.). 1989. Volume One: Orders Anguilliformes and Saccopharyngiformes. Volume Two: Leptocephali. Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Memoirs of the Sears Foundation of Marine Research Mem. 1 (part 9): v. 1:i-xvii + 1-655; 2:i-vii + 657-1055.