Maimed snake eel

The Maimed snake eel (Muraenichthys schultzei, also known as the Aimed snake eel, the Bleeker's worm-eel, or the Schultz's worm eel[1]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[2] It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1857.[3] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including the Red Sea, East Africa, Samoa, the Ryukyu Islands, Australia, and Micronesia. It dwells at a depth range of 1 to 13 metres (3.3 to 42.7 ft), and inhabits coral reefs and lagoons, where it forms burrows in soft benthic sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 24 centimetres (9.4 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 8 centimetres (3.1 in).[2]

Maimed snake eel
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Anguilliformes
Family:
Ophichthidae
Genus:
Muraenichthys
Species:
M. schultzei
Binomial name
Muraenichthys schultzei
Bleeker, 1857
Synonyms
  • Muraenichthys schultzi Bleeker, 1857
  • Muraenichthys schulzei Bleeker, 1857

The Maimed snake eel is of minor commercial interest to fisheries. It is usually bagged, netted or dug out, and sold for shark bait.[2]

References
  1. Common names of Muraenichthys schultzei at www.fishbase.org.
  2. Muraenichthys schultzei at www.fishbase.org.
  3. Bleeker, P., 1857 [ref. 16868] Descriptiones specierum piscium javanensium novarum vel minus cognitarum diagnosticae. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië v. 13: 323-368.


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