European finless eel

European finless eel
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Ophichthidae
Genus: Apterichtus
Species: A. caecus
Binomial name
Apterichtus caecus
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[1]
  • Muraena caeca Linnaeus, 1758
  • Caecula caeca (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Ophichthys caecus (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Sphagebranchus caecus (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Caecula apterygia Vahl, 1794
  • Caecilia branderiana Lacépède, 1800
  • Apterichtus branderiana (Lacépède, 1800)

Apterichtus caecus, the European finless eel, is a species of snake eel native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Balearic Island, the western Mediterranean, the Azores, and the Gulf of Guinea. It can be found on the continental shelf at depths of from 10 to 40 metres (33 to 131 ft) living in burrows in mud or sand. It preys on other fishes as well as benthic invertebrates. Spawning for this species in the Mediterranean has been recorded in the early summer months of May and June. This species can reach a length of 60 centimetres (24 in) TL.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Synonyms of Apterichtus caecus at www.fishbase.org.
  2. ↑ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2014). "Apterichtus caecus" in FishBase. February 2014 version.
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