Abstract
A little known species of snake eel, Ophichthus lithinus (Jordan et Richardson, 1908), is reported for the first time from the east coast of India, Bay of Bengal based on two specimens 632 and 720 mm in total length, collected respectively at Digha, West Bengal and Kalpakam, Tamil Nadu, India. This is the first attempt to provide a detailed description of the species from the Indian Ocean. The presently reported findings constitute an extension of the known distributional range of this species from the Western Pacific to the eastern coast of India.
Highlights
The fishes of the family Ophichthidae, commonly pling), nocturnal activity, and a specific habitat preference known as snake eels and worm eels, comprise 59 genera, of (Castle and McCosker 1999). which 45 are belonging to the subfamily Ophichthinae (McCosker 1998, 1999, 2007) ical characteristics of a rare snake eel species—the and 14 to the subfamily Myrophinae (tail tip flexible and Evermann’s snake eel, Ophichthus lithinus (Jordan et confluent with dorsal and anal fins) (McCosker et al 2012, Richardson, 1908), collected in West Bengal and Tamil Hibino et al 2013), both comprising more than 260 Nadu, India
Two specimens of snake eel, Ophichthus lithinus, were Members of this family are associated with a variety of collected (Fig. 1), one (MARC/ZSI/F3330) of 720 mm in marine habitats such as sandy or muddy bottoms, middle total length (TL) from Shankarpur fishing harbour, West water, and reefs at depths ranging usually from near shore Bengal, India caught by a commercial trawl at about 28 to 100 m; some are found even as deep as 1300 m
The presently illustrated specimen was deposited in the Museum of Marine Aquarium and Regional Center, Zoological Survey of India, Digha (MARC/ZSI/F3330) and the other specimen at the Fish Division, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata (ZSI F 10996/2)
Summary
The fishes of the family Ophichthidae, commonly pling), nocturnal activity, and a specific habitat preference known as snake eels and worm eels, comprise 59 genera, of (Castle and McCosker 1999). which 45 are belonging to the subfamily Ophichthinae (tail The aim of this study was to describe the morphologtip hard, pointed and finless) (McCosker 1998, 1999, 2007) ical characteristics of a rare snake eel species—the and 14 to the subfamily Myrophinae (tail tip flexible and Evermann’s snake eel, Ophichthus lithinus (Jordan et confluent with dorsal and anal fins) (McCosker et al 2012, Richardson, 1908), collected in West Bengal and Tamil Hibino et al 2013), both comprising more than 260 Nadu, India. Two specimens of snake eel, Ophichthus lithinus, were Members of this family are associated with a variety of collected (Fig. 1), one (MARC/ZSI/F3330) of 720 mm in marine habitats such as sandy or muddy bottoms, middle total length (TL) from Shankarpur fishing harbour, West water, and reefs at depths ranging usually from near shore Bengal, India caught by a commercial trawl at about 28 to 100 m; some are found even as deep as 1300 m.
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