Whip eel

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Whip eel
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Ophichthidae
Genus: Bascanichthys
Species:
B. scuticaris
Binomial name
Bascanichthys scuticaris
(Goode & Bean, 1880)
Synonyms[1]
  • Sphagebranchus scuticaris Goode & Bean, 1880
  • Sphagebranchus teres Goode & Bean, 1882

The whip eel (Bascanichthys scuticaris, also known as the sooty eel[2]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[3] It was described by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean in 1880.[4] It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including the United States and the Gulf of Mexico. It inhabits reefs and coastal waters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 76 centimetres (30 in).[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Synonyms of Bascanichthys scuticaris at www.fishbase.org.
  2. ^ Common names of Bascanichthys scuticaris at www.fishbase.org.
  3. ^ a b Bascanichthys scuticaris at www.fishbase.org.
  4. ^ Goode, G. B. and T. H. Bean, 1880 (25 Mar.) [ref. 18135] Catalogue of a collection of fishes obtained in the Gulf of Mexico, by Dr. J. W. Velie, with descriptions of seven new species. Proceedings of the United States National Museum v. 2 (no. 98): 333-345.