Common Name
Banded Cusk-eel
Year Described
Putnam, 1874
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 116-137
Anal Fin: 96-107
Pectoral Fin: 19-25
Caudal Fin: 9
Pelvic Fin: 2
Gill Rakers: 4 well developed on lower limb (4-7 range)
Vertebrae: 13-16 precaudal, 45-52 caudal, 59-66 total
Body elongated with dorsal and ventral profiles almost parallel except for the tapered tail. Head rounded (males more sloped and straight). Snout projecting over mouth. Ethmoid spine present. Mouth inferior. Jaw extending rearward to middle or rear of orbit. Small villiform teeth on premaxilla, dentary, maxilla, vomer, and palatines. Opercular spine absent. Dorsal and anal fins continuous with tail. Anal origin well behind dorsal origin. Pelvic fins unequal and short (longest not reaching pectoral base). Pectoral fins reach dorsal origin. Branchiostegal rays number seven. Body covered in small basketweave scales. Head without scales. Scales do not overlap.
Color
Body and head tan to brown (darker dorsally and pale ventrally). Dorsal fin body colored with dark margins. Anal fin dark with a darker margin.
Size
Maximum size to 269mm SL.
Habitat
Taken on soft bottoms from 0-75m, but most common in shallower water <20m).
Range
North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico and S. Caribbean and French Guiana.
References
Lea, R. N., & C. R. Robins. 2003. Four new species of the genus Ophidion (Pisces: Ophidiidae) from the western Atlantic Ocean / by Robert N. Lea and C. Richard Robins. Scientific Papers, (31), 1-9.
Rotundo, M. M., R. A. Caires, C. Oliveira, M. Kuranaka, J. M. Figueiredo-Filho, & A. P. Marceniuk. 2023. Taxonomic revision of the Ophidion holbrookii Putnam, 1874 (Ophidiiformes: Ophidiidae) species complex, with description of a new species from Brazil. Zootaxa, 5318(2), 237-252.
Other Notes
Ophidion beani is a synonym. Records of this species in Brazil refer to Ophidion zavalai.