- Cutthroat eel
-
Cutthroat eels 
Muddy arrowtooth eel, Ilyophis brunneus.
From plate 43 of Oceanic Ichthyology by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean, published 1896.Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Superorder: Elopomorpha Order: Anguilliformes Family: Synaphobranchidae Genera See text.
Cutthroat eels are a family, Synaphobranchidae, of eels, the only member of the suborder Synaphobranchoidei. They are found worldwide in temperate and tropical seas.
Cutthroat eels range from 23 centimetres (9.1 in) to 160 centimetres (63 in) in length. They are bottom-dwelling fish, found in deep waters down to about 3,700 metres (12,100 ft).[1] They are distinguished by the presence of telescopic eyes in the larvae.
Genera and species
There are 38 species in 12 genera:[2]
Family Synaphobranchidae
- Genus Atractodenchelys (2 species)
- Genus Diastobranchus (1 species)
- Genus Dysomma (12 species)
- Genus Dysommina (2 species)
- Genus Haptenchelys (1 species)
- Genus Histiobranchus (3 species)
- Genus Ilyophis (6 species)
- Genus Linkenchelys (1 species)
- Genus Meadia (2 species)
- Genus Simenchelys (1 species)
- Genus Synaphobranchus (6 species)
- Genus Thermobiotes 1 species)
In some classifications (for example, ITIS), this family is split, with Simenchelys in its own family, Simenchelyidae.
References
- ^ McCosker, John F. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N.. ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 90. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- ^ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2011). "Synaphobranchidae" in FishBase. June 2011 version.
- Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Synaphobranchidae" in FishBase. January 2006 version.
Categories:- Synaphobranchidae
- Fish of the Atlantic Ocean
- Fish of the Pacific Ocean
- Fish of the Indian Ocean
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
