Kaupichthys nuchalis
Collared Eel
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Anguilliformes (True Eels)
Chlopsidae (False Morays)
Kaupichthys
Kaupichthys nuchalis (Collared Eel)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Moderately elongate, with reduced pectoral fins and dorsal fin originating behind gill openings. Snout is of moderate length and tapers anteriorly. Posterior nostril is above upper lip and is not covered with flap. Snout length is 20% to 24%, eye is 8% to 14%, mouth length is 33% to 40%, and pectoral fin length is 10% to 21% of head length. Head length is 10% to 12%, predorsal length is 11% to 14%, preanal length is 32% to 36%, and depth at anus is 3% to 5% of TL. Teeth in upper jaw are slender and in three or four rows anteriorly and in fewer rows posteriorly, with inner teeth larger than outer teeth. Teeth in lower jaw are slender and in three rows anteriorly and in two rows posteriorly, with inner teeth much larger than outer teeth. Intermaxillary teeth are in round patch. Vomerine teeth are continuous with intermaxillary teeth and in two rows. Lateral line pores are limited to two branchial pores. Branchiostegal rays number eight or nine. Total vertebrae number 119 to 125, predorsal vertebrae number 7 or 8, and preanal vertebrae number 33 to 37.
Color is brown, with underside of head and throat pale, and pale area expanded dorsally in nuchal region to form band. Pores are surrounded by pale area.
Distribution
Western North Atlantic from the northern Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and islands of the Caribbean Sea
West Flower Gardens Reef off Texas
Habitat Associations
Near shore to 77 m, and possibly from 604 to 732 m
Around coral reefs, thought to live in sponges
Biology
Maximum known size is 163 mm TL
A benthic and solitary species (Ref. 26340) occurring in and around coral reefs. Sometimes lives in tubular sponges, and suggested that this is its primary habitat (Ref. 26938).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-08-15.
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
References
Bohlke 1967
Bohlke and Chaplin 1968
Bohlke and Smith 1968
Bright and Cashman 1974
Smith 1989c,o
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
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