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Ophichthus tetratrema

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Ophichthus tetratrema
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Ophichthidae
Genus: Ophichthus
Species:
O. tetratrema
Binomial name
Ophichthus tetratrema

Ophichthus tetratrema is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[1] It was described by John E. McCosker and Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt in 1998.[2] It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the eastern Pacific Ocean, including Costa Rica and Ecuador. It dwells at a depth range of 700 to 1,000 metres (2,300 to 3,300 ft). Females can reach a total length of 55.6 centimetres (21.9 in).[1]

The species epithet "tetratrema" means "four holed" in Greek, and is treated as a noun in apposition. It refers to the four preopercular pores on the eel.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Ophichthus tetratrema at www.fishbase.org.
  2. ^ McCosker, J. E. and R. H. Rosenblatt, 1998 (18 Dec.) [ref. 23645] A revision of the eastern Pacific snake-eel genus Ophichthus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) with the description of six new species. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences v. 50 (no. 19): 397-432.