Myrichthys colubrinus
Appearance
Myrichthys colubrinus | |
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Species: | M. colubrinus
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Binomial name | |
Myrichthys colubrinus (Boddaert, 1781)
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Myrichthys colubrinus, the banded snake eel, ringed snake eel or harlequin snake eel, is a snake eel from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 97 cm (38 in) in length.[1]
The ringed snake eel resembles the venomous sea snake, Laticauda colubrina which is a form of Batesian mimicry.[2] It also adjusts its behaviour to swim freely during the day, whereas other snake eels tend to stay hidden and roam at night.
References
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Myrichthys colubrinus". FishBase. December 2008 version.
- ^ Randall, J. E. (2005). A review of mimicry in marine fishes. Zoological Studies, 44(3), 299–328.
External links
- Photos of Myrichthys colubrinus on Sealife Collection
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Myrichthys colubrinus.