Ophichthus echeloides (D'Ancona 1928)

E, John, 2010, Deepwater Indo-Pacific species of the snake-eel genus Ophichthus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae), with the description of nine new species, Zootaxa 2505, pp. 1-39 : 15

Ophichthus echeloides (D'Ancona 1928)

Leptocephalus echeloides D'Ancona 1928:69 , Pl. 4 (type locality, Perim, Red Sea, holotype MSNV P-10). Ophichthus echeloides: McCosker, Baranes & Golani 1993:165 .

Diagnosis. A stout, cylindrical species of Ophichthus , subgenus Coecilophis , with: tail 58%, head 11.9%, and depth at gill openings 4.2% of TL; dorsal-fin origin above middle of pectoral fin; pectoral fins rounded; posterior nostril in edge of upper lip, covered by a flap; head pores not obvious, SO 1+4, IO 4+2, POM 3+9; teeth small, conical, pointed, uniserial on vomer and biserial in jaws; coloration tan, paler ventrally, fins pale. Vertebral formula 11/50/125 (n=1).

Size. Attains 520 mm, an adult male.

Distribution. From the Red Sea, known from the holotype (a leptocephalus ) and an adult male caught by trammel net off Eilat at 276– 300 m.

Remarks. This description is based upon the adult specimen from the Red Sea described by McCosker et al. (1993). Their description of its left pectoral-fin length (p. 167) was in error; its actual length is 17.8 mm and not 7.8 mm.

Material examined. HUJ 14133, 518 mm TL, Eilat, Red Sea, 300 m.