Ophisurus serpens Serpent eel

Ophisurus serpensis commonly referred to as Serpent eel. Difficulty in the aquarium: suitable for large display tanks (public aquarium or zoo) only. A aquarium size of at least 3000 Liter is recommended. Toxicity: Toxic hazard unknown.

Michael Eisenbart

Serpent Eel,Langschnauzen-Schlangenaal,Ophisurus serpens 2021

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lexID:: 4948
AphiaID:: 126317

Scientific:: Ophisurus serpens
German:: Langschnauzen-Schlangenaal
English:: Serpent Eel

Category:: Snake Eels

Family tree:: Animalia (Kingdom) > Chordata (Phylum) > Actinopterygii (Class) > Anguilliformes (Order) > Ophichthidae (Family) > Ophisurus (Genus) > serpens (Species)
Initial determination:: (Linnaeus, ), 1758

Occurrence:: West Sahara, Ghana, Straße von Gibralta, Benin, Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Congo, East-Atlantic Ocean, Equatorial Guinea, Japan, Madeira, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South-Africa, Spain, the Cape Verde Archipelago, the Ivory Coast, the Mediterranean Sea, Togo, Western Indian Ocean, Western Pacific Ocean
Size:: 39.37" - 98.43" (100cm - 250cm)
Temperature:: 68 °F - 82.4 °F (20°C - 28°C)
Food:: Crustaceans, Fish (little fishes), Frozen Food (large sort), Invertebrates, Worms, Zoobenthos
Tank:: 659.94 gal (~ 3000L)
Difficulty:: suitable for large display tanks (public aquarium or zoo) only
Offspring:: None
Toxicity:: Toxic hazard unknown

CITES:

Not evaluated

Red List:

Least concern (LC)

Related species at Catalog of Life:

Ophisurus macrorhynchos
Ophisurus serpens
Langschnauzen-Schlangenaal

Author:: Meerwasser-Lexikon Team
Publisher:: Meerwasser-Lexikon.de
Created:: 2013-01-06 16:43:34
Last edit:: 2013-01-06 16:43:34

Info

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Special thanks for the fotos to Gianni Neto, Italy.

Distribution:
Eastern Atlantic: northern coast of Iberian peninsula to South Africa, also Madeira and western Mediterranean.

Western Indian Ocean: southern Mozambique to South Africa.

Western Pacific: Japan and Australasia.

Colour:
olive green to brown above, paler below; head pores black; young silvery.

Synonymised taxa:
Echelus oxyrinchus Rafinesque, 1810
Leptorhynchus capensis Smith, 1840
Muraena acutirostris Gronow, 1854
Muraena serpens Linnaeus, 1758
Oxystomus serpens (Linnaeus, 1758)
Sphagebranchus serpens (Linnaeus, 1758)

Biology:
Inhabiting the continental shelf on sand or mud bottom. Buried with only its head exposed.
Also found in estuaries.

Classification: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Chordata (Phylum) > Vertebrata (Subphylum) > Gnathostomata (Superclass) > Pisces (Superclass) > Actinopterygii (Class) > Anguilliformes (Order) > Ophichthidae (Family) > Ophichthinae (Subfamily) > Ophisurus (Genus)

Scientific paper

Occurrence of the serpent eel, Ophisurus serpens (Linnaeus, 1758)(Osteichthyes: Ophichthidae), close to the Bay of İzmir (Aegean Sea, Turkey), ULAŞ, Ali; AKYOL, Okan , 2015
The hemoglobin system of the serpent eelOphisurus serpens: structural and functional characterization, Barbara Manconi, Mariagiuseppina Pellegrini…, 2013

External links

World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) (en). Abgerufen am 07.08.2020.

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Serpent Eel,Langschnauzen-Schlangenaal,Ophisurus serpens 2021

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