Narrow Worm Eel
Scolecenchelys macroptera
- Usual depth0–23 m
- Water temperature23–30 °C
- Best monthsAugust, September, and November
- How commonRare
About this species
The slender snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1857. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including East Africa, the Society Islands, the Ryukyu Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef. It dwells at a depth range of 30 to 33 metres, and inhabits sand sediments, tidepools and swamps in mangroves. Males can reach a maximum total length of 25 centimetres (9.8 in).
Text from the Wikipedia article “Slender 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: 9 records
- March: 5 records
- April: 13 records
- May: 14 records
- June: 13 records
- July: 21 records
- August: 34 records
- September: 28 records
- October: 14 records
- November: 24 records
- December: 8 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–23 m · Deepest record: 640 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 23–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Narrow Worm Eel, Slender Snake Eel
Names in 2 more languages
- Japanese
- Kurimimizuanago, クリミミズアナゴ
- Simplified Chinese
- 大鰭蠕蛇鰻, 硬骨仔, 硬骨篡, 篡仔, 鰻仔
Other scientific names: Echidna uniformis, Muraenichthys macropterus, Muraenichthys owstoni
Similar species
- slender worm eel
Scolecenchelys gymnota
- Pearlbelly Snake-eel
Scolecenchelys laticaudata
- Saddled snake-eel
Leiuranus semicinctus
- Harlequin snake-eel
Myrichthys colubrinus
- Tiger snake-eel
Myrichthys maculosus
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).
- 285 open-data records from 1857 to 2015.
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