Lamnostoma orientale
- Usual depth0–1 m
- Water temperature26–29 °C
- Best monthsJuly, September, and December
- How commonRare
About this species
The Oriental worm-eel, also known as the Oriental snake eel, the Oriental sand-eel or the finny sand-eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John McClelland in 1844, originally under the genus Dalophis. It is a tropical, marine and freshwater-dwelling eel which is known from the Indo-Western Pacific, including Somalia, South Africa, India, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Oman, Palau, New Caledonia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, and Vanuatu. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 3 metres, and forms burrows in sand and mud sediments in estuaries, rivers, and inshore turbid waters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 36 centimetres (14 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 25 centimetres (9.8 in).
Text from the Wikipedia article “Oriental worm-eel”, 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: 1 records
- July: 2 records
- August: 0 records
- September: 2 records
- October: 0 records
- November: 1 records
- December: 2 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–1 m · Deepest record: 0.6 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 26–29 °C
Names and classification
Other scientific names: Dalophis orientalis, Lamnastoma orientalis, Lamnosoma orientalis, Lamnostoma orientalis, Lamnostoma pictum, Lamnostomus orientalis, Ophichthys orientalis, Sphagebranchus orientalis
Similar species
- Ocellated Sand-eel
Lamnostoma polyophthalmus
Saddled snake-eelLeiuranus semicinctus
Harlequin snake-eelMyrichthys colubrinus
Tiger snake-eelMyrichthys maculosus
Pencil Snake EelApterichtus klazingai
Stargazer Snake EelBrachysomophis cirrocheilos
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).
- 24 open-data records from 1844 to 2003.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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