Saddled snake-eel

The saddled snake-eel (Leiuranus semicinctus, also known commonly as the halfbanded snake-eel, the banded snake eel, or the culverin[2]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[3] It was described by George Tradescant Lay and Edward Turner Bennett in 1839, originally under the genus Ophisurus.[4] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific and southeastern Atlantic Ocean, including East and South Africa, the Hawaiian Islands, the Marquesan Islands, the Mangaréva islands, Japan, and Australia. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 70 metres (0 to 230 ft), most often around 0 to 10 metres (0 to 33 ft), and inhabits lagoons and reefs, in which it forms burrows in beds of seagrass and sandy areas. Males can reach a maximum total length of 66 centimetres (2.17 ft).[3]

Saddled snake-eel
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Ophichthidae
Genus: Leiuranus
Species:
L. semicinctus
Binomial name
Leiuranus semicinctus
(Lay & Bennett, 1839)
Synonyms[1]
  • Ophisurus semicinctus Lay & Bennett, 1839
  • Liuranus semicinctus (Lay & Bennett, 1839)
  • Sphagebranchus cinctus Tanaka, 1908
  • Caecula cincta (Tanaka, 1908)
  • Machaerenchelys vanderbilti Fowler, 1938
  • Machaerenchelys phoenixensis Schultz, 1943
  • Leiuranus phoenixensis (Schultz, 1943)

The saddled snake-eel's diet consists of fish, crabs, prawns,[3] and worms including Ptychodera.[5] Males and females rise to the surface of the water during spawning.[6]

References
  1. Synonyms of Leiuranus semicinctus at www.fishbase.org.
  2. Common names of Leiuranus semicinctus at www.fishbase.org.
  3. Leiuranus semicinctus at www.fishbase.org.
  4. Lay, G. T. and E. T. Bennett, 1839 [ref. 2730] Fishes. Pp. 41-75, Pls. 15-23. In: F.W. Bechey (ed.) The zoology of Captain Beechey's voyage, comp. from the collections ... to the Pacific and Behring's Straits... in 1825-28. H. G. Bohn, London.
  5. Food items reported for Leiuranus semicinctus at www.fishbase.org.
  6. Reproduction of Leiuranus semicinctus at www.fishbase.org.


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