Narrownecked oceanic eel

Derichthys serpentinus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth100–1,735 m
Water temperature5–29 °C
Best monthsMay and June
How commonOccasional

About this species

The narrownecked oceanic eel, Derichthys serpentinus, is a longneck eel, the only species in the genus Derichthys, found in all oceans in depths between 500 and 2,000 m. Their length is up to 40 centimetres.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Narrownecked oceanic eel”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 6 records
February: 16 records
March: 11 records
April: 15 records
May: 40 records
June: 63 records
July: 30 records
August: 33 records
September: 31 records
October: 10 records
November: 10 records
December: 7 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 100–1,735 m · Deepest record: 3,321.5 m

0–10 m: 11 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 2 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 4 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 1 records
80–90 m: 1 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 7 records
110+ m: 213 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 5–29 °C

4–6 °C: 1 records
6–8 °C: 1 records
8–10 °C: 13 records
10–12 °C: 50 records
12–14 °C: 47 records
14–16 °C: 31 records
16–18 °C: 52 records
18–20 °C: 22 records
20–22 °C: 5 records
22–24 °C: 47 records
24–26 °C: 22 records
26–28 °C: 5 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Names and classification

English: Narrownecked oceanic eel, Neckeel, Deep-water Neck Eel, Deepwater Neck Eel, Longneck Eel, narrownecked oceanic eel, narrowneck eel, neckeel, Serpent Eel

Names in 3 more languages

Spanish: Anguila jirafa
French: Fouet petit-nez
Japanese: Kubinagaanago, クビナガアナゴ

Other scientific names: Derichthys iselini, Derichthys kempi, Derichtys iselini, Grammatocephalus kempi, Leptocephalus anguilloides

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).
594 open-data records from 1883 to 2023.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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