Reptilian snake eel
species of fish
The reptilian snake eel (Brachysomophis henshawi), also known as Henshaw's snake eel, the Hawaiian crocodile eel or the crocodile snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by David Starr Jordan and John Otterbein Snyder in 1904.
Biology
It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific. It dwells at a depth range of 1 to 35 m (3.3–114.8 ft), and inhabits burrows formed in sandy areas in rocky and coral reefs. During the night it often lets its head and neck protrude from its burrow, but during the day it only leaves its snout and some of its head exposed. It can reach a maximum total length of 101 cm (3 ft 4 in).
Etymology
The species epithet "henshawi" was given in honour of Henry W. Henshaw.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 11, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q2178370. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1904.
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This entry incorporates text from “Reptilian snake eel” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.