Black-neck Snake Eel
Ophichthus cephalozona
- Usual depth0–2 m
- Water temperature24–29 °C
- Best monthsJune and July
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Leon Perrie, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The dark-shouldered snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1864. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the Pacific Ocean, including the East Indies, the Society Islands, the Mariana Islands, Queensland, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Japan, and India. It dwells at a depth range of 2–15 metres, and inhabits reefs. It forms burrows in mud and sand, and forages during the night. Males can reach a maximum total length of 115 centimetres.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Dark-shouldered snake 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: 9 records
- February: 8 records
- March: 9 records
- April: 11 records
- May: 8 records
- June: 15 records
- July: 25 records
- August: 11 records
- September: 13 records
- October: 8 records
- November: 8 records
- December: 10 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–2 m · Deepest record: 42.7 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 24–29 °C
Photos
(c) coenobita, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Hugo Innes, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Daniel Montesinos, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) coenobita, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Daniel Montesinos, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Matt B, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) naturewatchwidow, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Black-neck Snake Eel, Blacksaddle Snake Eel, Dark-shouldered Snake eel, Dark-shouldered Snake-eel, Headsaddle Snake Eel, One-banded Snake-eel
Names in 5 more languages
- Spanish
- Tieso de cuello negro
- Filipino
- Igat
- French
- Anguille-serpent tête noire
- Japanese
- Kataguroumihebi, カタグロウミヘビ
- Simplified Chinese
- 硬骨仔, 硬骨篡, 篡仔, 頸帶蛇鰻, 頸斑蛇鰻, 鰻仔
Other scientific names: Ophichthys cephalozona
Similar species
Evermann's Snake EelOphichthus lithinus
- Bluntnose snake-eel
Ophichthus apicalis
- Manetail Snake Eel
Ophichthus urolophus
Saddled snake-eelLeiuranus semicinctus
Harlequin snake-eelMyrichthys colubrinus
Tiger snake-eelMyrichthys maculosus
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).
- 96 open-data records from 1931 to 1998.
- Species data updated October 30, 2026.
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