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Teleostei (teleosts) > Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) > Ophichthidae (Snake eels) > Ophichthinae
Etymology: Dalophis: Greek, dalos, ou = torch, burning piece of wood + Greek, ophis = serpent (Ref. 45335).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; demersal; pH range: 7.5 - 8.2. Tropical; 23°C - 28°C (Ref. 13614); 21°N - 18°S, 18°W - 14°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: Mauritania to Angola.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 57.4 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3508); common length : 47.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4455)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0. Caudal ends in a hardened point. Ogivale head, small eyes near buccal joint at end of snout. Buccal slit short, snout prominent covered with villi. Gill slits lateroventral, crescentiform. Thin dorsal and anal fins, in groove; dorsal origin behind gill slits (predorsal length 11.5-16.9% TL); anal origin immediately behind anus. Pores of lateral system and cephalic slightly rimmed. One median pore on the supraorbital joint; 57-64 pores on lateral line before the anus. Vertebrae: 149-162. Dark brown back and dorsal base, whitish belly.

Mainly nocturnal. During the day, this fish lies buried in the sediment with the head out.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : McCosker, John E. | Collaborators

Leiby, M., 1990. Ophichthidae. p. 176-192. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 4455)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 25 October 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 21.4 - 28, mean 27.1 °C (based on 208 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5312 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00089 (0.00039 - 0.00204), b=3.00 (2.80 - 3.20), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.8 ±0.6 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Moderate vulnerability (43 of 100).

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