Myrichthys breviceps
Myrichthys breviceps (syn. M. acuminatus), the sharptail snake-eel, is a fish species native to the Western Atlantic.
| Myrichthys breviceps | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Ophichthidae |
| Genus: | Myrichthys |
| Species: | M. breviceps |
| Binomial name | |
| Myrichthys breviceps (J. Richardson, 1848) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Myrichthys acuminatus | |
It has diffuse, yellow spots on a blueish-gray back and white belly. Spots are small on the head, larger on the body. The eel occurs not uncommonly along the coasts of the Caribbean sea, on sea grass beds and on reefs. Although mainly night active, they may also be seen foraging during daylight. Food is small invertebrates like crabs.
They allow close approach by divers and can easily be photographed, but bury in the sand when bothered.[1]
Close-up of sharptail eel, Douglas Bay, Dominica, 2012
References
- Humann, P. and Deloach, N.: Reef fish identification Florida Caribbean Bahamas, Jacksonville (Fl.), New World Publications, 3rd Printing, 2006
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2011). "Myrichthys breviceps" in FishBase. June 2011 version.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.