| Cutthroat eels | ||||||||||||
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 Muddy arrowtooth eel, Ilyophis brunneus.
From plate 43 of Oceanic Ichthyology by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean, published 1896. |
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See text. |
Cutthroat eels are a family, Synaphobranchidae, of eels, the only member of the suborder Synaphobranchoidei. They are found worldwide in temperate and tropical seas.
Cutthroat eels range from 23 centimetres (9.1 in) to 160 centimetres (63 in) in length. They are bottom-dwelling fish, found in deep waters down to about 3,700 metres (12,000 ft).[1] They are distinguished by the presence of telescopic eyes in the larvae.
Genera and species
There are 38 species in 12 genera:[2]
Family Synaphobranchidae
- Genus Atractodenchelys
- Atractodenchelys phrix
- Atractodenchelys robinsorum
- Genus Diastobranchus
- Genus Dysomma
- Dysomma anguillare (Shortbelly eel)
- Dysomma brevirostre (Pignosed arrowtooth eel)
- Dysomma bucephalus
- Dysomma dolichosomatum
- Dysomma fuscoventralis
- Dysomma goslinei
- Dysomma longirostrum
- Dysomma melanurum
- Dysomma muciparus
- Dysomma opisthoproctus
- Dysomma polycatodon
- Dysomma tridens
- Genus Dysommina
- Dysommina proboscideus
- Dysommina rugosa
- Genus Haptenchelys
- Haptenchelys texis
- Genus Histiobranchus
- Histiobranchus australis
- Deepwater arrowtooth eel, Histiobranchus bathybius
- Bruun's cutthroat eel, Histiobranchus bruuni
- Genus Ilyophis
- Ilyophis arx
- Ilyophis blachei
- Muddy arrowtooth eel, Ilyophis brunneus
- Ilyophis nigeli
- Ilyophis robinsae
- Ilyophis saldanhai
- Genus Linkenchelys
- Linkenchelys multipora
- Genus Meadia
- Meadia abyssalis (Abyssal cutthroat eel)
- Meadia roseni
- Genus Simenchelys
- Genus Synaphobranchus
- Grey cutthroat eel, Synaphobranchus affinis
- Synaphobranchus brevidorsalis (Shortdorsal cutthroat eel)
- Synaphobranchus calvus
- Synaphobranchus dolichorhynchus
- Synaphobranchus kaupii (Kaup's arrowtooth eel)
- Synaphobranchus oregoni
- Genus Thermobiotes
- Thermobiotes mytilogeiton
In some classifications (for example, ITIS), this family is split, with Simenchelys in its own family, Simenchelyidae.
References
- ^ McCosker, John F. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 90. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- ^ "Synaphobranchidae". FishBase. Ed. Rainer Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 2009 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2009.
- "Synaphobranchidae". FishBase. Ed. Rainer Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
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