Ophichthidae Günther 1870

Angulo, Arturo, Betts, Joel T., González-Alemán, Néstor J., Castañeda, Edgar, Berghe, Eric Van Den, Elías, Diego J., Mcmahan, Caleb D. & Matamoros, Wilfredo A., 2023, Continental fishes of Nicaragua: diversity, distribution and conservation status; with an annotated and illustrated checklist of species and an identification guide to families, Zootaxa 5376 (1), pp. 1-89 : 15

Family Ophichthidae Günther 1870 ( Fig. 2H ). Snake Eels, Finless Eels, Ridgefin Eels, Worm Eels, Sailfin Eels, Sand Eels, Spoon-Nose Eels, Viper Eels; Anguilas Culebra, Serpentones, Tiesos

Description: Body elongate, eel-shaped, more or less rounded in cross section; up to 250 cm in length; eyes usually small, situated just above the mouth; snout pointed or nearly so, and frequently overhangs the lower jaw; nostrils widely separated, the anterior nostril normally tubular, the posterior nostril usually within or piercing the upper lip; gill openings on mid-side to underneath the body; gill pouch expanded and reinforced by rays; scales absent; pectoral fins present or absent; tail finless and pointed or conspicuous and confluent with the dorsal and anal fins ( Robertson & Allen 2015, Nelson et al. 2016). Distribution: Marine, continental shelf, rarely in midwater, some species in or occasionally entering freshwater; coastal areas of tropical to warm temperate oceans (Nelson et al. 2016). One genus and two species in Nicaraguan freshwaters.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Families of continental fishes of Nicaragua, part 1; Carcharhinidae (A), Pristidae (B), Dasyatidae (C), Potamotrygonidae (D), Lepisosteidae (E), Elopidae (F), Megalopidae (G), Ophichthidae (H), Anguillidae (I), Engraulidae (J), Pristigasteridae (K), Dorosomatidae (L) and Cyprinidae (M). Illustrations adapted (with permission) from Nelson et al. (2016) and Angulo et al. (2021).