Benthenchelys indicus
- Usual depth100–1,500 m
- Water temperature29–30 °C
- Best monthsNovember and December
- How commonRare
About this species
Benthenchelys indicus is an eel in the family Ophichthidae, described by Peter Henry John Castle in 1972, originally as a subspecies of Benthenchelys cartieri. It is a marine, deep-water-dwelling eel known only from its type locality in the eastern Indian Ocean. It inhabits the pelagic zone.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Benthenchelys indicus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 0 records
- February: 0 records
- March: 0 records
- April: 0 records
- May: 0 records
- June: 0 records
- July: 0 records
- August: 0 records
- September: 1 records
- October: 1 records
- November: 3 records
- December: 2 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 100–1,500 m · Deepest record: 2,000 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 29–30 °C
Names and classification
Similar species
Saddled snake-eelLeiuranus semicinctus
Harlequin snake-eelMyrichthys colubrinus
Tiger snake-eelMyrichthys maculosus
Pencil Snake EelApterichtus klazingai
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 61 open-data records from 1929 to 1929.
- Species data updated October 31, 2026.
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