Pacific spoon-nose eel

The Pacific spoon-nose eel (Echiophis brunneus, also known commonly as the Fangjaw eel in Mexico[2]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[3] It was described by José Luis Castro-Aguirre and Sergio Suárez de los Cobos in 1983, originally under the genus Notophtophis.[4] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including the Gulf of California, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Panama.[5] It dwells at a maximum depth of 10 metres (33 ft), and inhabits sand and mud sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 140 centimetres (55 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 60 centimetres (24 in).[3]

Pacific spoon-nose eel
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Ophichthidae
Genus:	Echiophis
Species:	E. brunneus
Binomial name
Echiophis brunneus (Castro-Aguirre & Suárez de los Cobos, 1983)
Synonyms[1]
Notophtophis brunneus Castro-Aguirre & Suárez de los Cobos, 1983

Due to its wide distribution, lack of known major threats, and lack of observed population decline, the IUCN redlist currently lists the Pacific spoon-nose eel as Least Concern.[5] It is sometimes caught as by-catch by trawlers, but is usually discarded.[5]