Myrichthys ocellatus
Goldspotted Eel
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Anguilliformes (True Eels)
Ophichthidae (Snake Eels)
Myrichthys
Myrichthys ocellatus (Goldspotted Eel)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (Carpenter, K.E. (ed.) 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. FAO, Rome.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
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Characters
Body shape: eel-like. With diffuse dark spots, each with a pale center (bright yellow in life), on a pale tan or greenish-brown background, shading to pale green ventrally (Ref. 26938).
Distribution
At 0 to 7 m depth, C31, NC31, NW 41.
Habitat Associations
Marine. reef-associated.
Biology
To 108 cm.
Common near islands and in rocky or coral areas (Ref. 7251). May move beneath the sand (Ref. 9710). Found in seagrass bed sand areas with sand and coral rubble (Ref. 26938). Feeds mainly on crabs (Ref. 32). Forages at night for prey.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-08-15. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial.
References
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea and W.B. Scott (1991) Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. Am. Fish. Soc. Spec. Publ. (20):183 p.
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.
Bogutskaya, N.G. (2007) Preliminary assignment of coordinates to type localities in the Catalog of Fishes. Unpublished dbf file.
Comments On Myrichthys ocellatus