SYNBRANCHIFORMES

Phillip, Dawn A. T., Taphorn, Donald C., Holm, Erling, Gilliam, James F., Lamphere, Bradley A. & López-Fernández, Hernán, 2013, Annotated list and key to the stream fishes of Trinidad & Tobago, Zootaxa 3711 (1), pp. 1-64 : 21

ORDER SYNBRANCHIFORMES

FAMILY SYNBRANCHIDAE

Ophisternon aenigmaticum Rosen & Greenwood 1976 [zangie, obscure swamp eel]

Benthic (Miller et al. 2005), in hypersaline (Tyler & Feller 1996), brackish (Schofield & Nico 2009) and fresh water; wide range of habitats from small muddy pools to clear streams and lakes; also reported from a cave (Tobler et al. 2007); facultative air breather. Native (Smith 1997). Eggs likely deposited in burrows dug into bank or floodplain, guarded by male. Carnivore (Miller et al. 2005)/omnivore. 800 mm.

Synbranchus marmoratus Bloch 1795 [zangie, swamp eel, dog-head eel]

Wide range of habitats, from brackish water to extreme headwaters, drainage ditches, ponds, swamps, in clear or turbid water (Kenny 1995); facultative air breather (Lüling 1975); capable of moving over land (Alkins et al. 1981). Widely distributed in Trinidad, except for streams draining the south coast (Kenny 1995). Native. Potamodromous. Diandric, protogynous hermaphrodite (Breder & Rosen 1966, Liem 1968). Eggs deposited in burrows dug into bank or floodplain, tended by male (Taylor 1913, Vazzoler 1996). Feeds on benthic invertebrates (Winemiller 1992); juveniles carnivorous (Rodriguez, 1999, Meschiatti & Arcifa 2002); nocturnal, but will forage in the day (Kenny 1995). 1500 mm.