Ophichthus rex
King Snake Eel
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Anguilliformes (True Eels)
Ophichthidae (Snake Eels)
Ophichthus
Ophichthus rex (King Snake 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 and relatively stout, dorsal fin originating behind tips of pectoral fins, tail ending as a hard, finless point. Snout short, not overhanging lower jaw. Lips lack barbels. Anterior nostril tubular, with notch in dorsal margin and ridge inside ventral margin. Posterior nostril opens outside of mouth, covered by posteroventrally directed flap. Eye moderate size. Jaw teeth stout, conical, uniserial to multiserial, number and rows increasing with growth. Intermaxillary teeth in semicircle, number increasing with growth. Vomerine teeth continuous with intermaxillary teeth, number and series increasing with growth. Head pores small, six infraorbital, five supraorbital, seven mandibular, three preopercular, and three supratemporal. Snout length 17% to 21%, eye 6% to 10%, mouth length 35% to 44%, pectoral fin length 26% to 34% of head length. Head length 11% to 13%, trunk length 35% to 37%, predorsal length 17% to 19%, depth behind gill openings 4.5% to 7.7% of TL. Total vertebrae 115 to 121, predorsal vertebrae 15 to 18, preanal vertebrae 45 to 47.
Brown to slate gray, with 14 or 15 faint to dark saddles along body. Vertical fins striped at base.
Distribution
Western North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Mud bottoms, 22 to 366 m
Burrows
Biology
Maximum known size 2,100 mm TL
Males mature between 722 and 896 mm TL, females mature at about 1,687 mm TL
Inhabits offshore water from 15-365 m depth. Commonly caught by anglers near oil rigs.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-08-11. Resilience: Very low (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest; gamefish.
References
Hoese and Moore 1977 (as Ophichthus sp.)
Bohlke and Caruso 1980
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
McCosker et al. 1989
Leiby 1989
Boschung 1992
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.
Charter, S.R. (1996) Ophichthidae: Snake eels and worm eels. p. 93-99. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. 1505p.
Comments On Ophichthus rex