Serpent eel
Encyclopedia
The serpent eel or sand snake-eel, Ophisurus serpens, is an eel
of the genus Ophisurus
, found in the eastern Atlantic, western Mediterranean, western Indian Ocean
, western Pacific, and the north east coast of North Island
in New Zealand
. It can be found to depths of about 300 m, on sandy or muddy bottoms near rock outcrops. Its length is between 150 and 250 centimetres.
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
of the genus Ophisurus
Ophisurus
Ophisurus is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It currently contains the following species:* Ophisurus macrorhynchos Bleeker, 1853* Ophisurus serpens...
, found in the eastern Atlantic, western Mediterranean, western Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, western Pacific, and the north east coast of North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It can be found to depths of about 300 m, on sandy or muddy bottoms near rock outcrops. Its length is between 150 and 250 centimetres.