Duck-billed eel
Nettastoma parviceps
- Usual depth481–1,139 m
- Water temperature9–28 °C
- Best monthsAugust, September, and November
- How commonRare
About this species
The duck-billed eel, also known as the shortsnouted sorcerer or the smallhead duckbill eel, is an eel in the family Nettastomatidae. It was described by Albert Günther in 1877. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel, which is known from the Indo-Pacific and the southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Japan, Hawaii, eastern Australia, southeastern Africa, and Chile. It dwells at a depth range of 60–1190 metres, and inhabits the continental shelf and slope. Males can reach a maximum total length of 83 centimetres.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Duck-billed 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: 1 records
- February: 8 records
- March: 5 records
- April: 7 records
- May: 5 records
- June: 9 records
- July: 5 records
- August: 14 records
- September: 13 records
- October: 9 records
- November: 16 records
- December: 7 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 481–1,139 m · Deepest record: 1,705 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 9–28 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Duck-billed eel, Duckbill Eel, Shortsnouted Sorcerer, Smallhead Duckbill Eel, White Duck-billed Eel
Names in 2 more languages
- Japanese
- Kuzu-anago, Kuzuanago, クズアナゴ
- Simplified Chinese
- 小頭絲鰻(小頭鴨嘴鰻), 小頭鴨嘴鰻, 絲仔鰻
Other scientific names: Metopomycter denticulatus, Metopomycter parviceps, Nettastoma denticulatus
Similar species
- Blackfin sorcerer
Nettastoma melanura
- Solitary Duckbill Eel
Nettastoma solitarium
- Bridge Duckbill Eel
Nettenchelys gephyra
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).
- 141 open-data records from 1906 to 2023.
- Species data updated November 5, 2026.
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