Marble-toothed snake-eel
| Marble-toothed snake-eel | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Ophichthidae |
| Genus: | Pisodonophis |
| Species: | P. daspilotus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pisodonophis daspilotus Gilbert, 1898 | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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The Marble-toothed snake-eel (Pisodonophis daspilotus, also known as the Blunt-toothed snake eel[2]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[3] It was described by Charles Henry Gilbert in 1898.[4] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador.[5] It dwells in shallow waters at a maximum depth of 10 metres (33 ft), and inhabits sand and mud sediments and mangroves. Males can reach a maximum total length of 68 centimetres (27 in).[3]
The IUCN redlist currently lists the Marble-toothed snake eel as Near Threatened, due to the decline in mangroves in its range of habitat. The population of the Marble-toothed snake eel is estimated to have declined by 25% over a course of 10–15 years.[5]
References
- ^ Synonyms of Pisodonophis daspilotus at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ Common names of Pisodonophis daspilotus at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ a b Pisodonophis daspilotus at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ Jordan, D. S. and B. W. Evermann, 1898 (26 Nov.) [ref. 2445] The fishes of North and Middle America: a descriptive catalogue of the species of fish-like vertebrates found in the waters of North America north of the Isthmus of Panama. Part III. Bulletin of the United States National Museum No. 47: i-xxiv + 2183a-3136.
- ^ a b Pisodonophis daspilotus at www.fishbase.org.