Napoleon snake eel
Species of fish
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Napoleon snake eel (Ophichthus bonaparti, also known as the Napoleon eel, the Purplebanded snake eel, or the Saddled snake-eel[2]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[3] It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856, originally under the genus Poecilocephalus.[4] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including Durban, South Africa, Mauritius, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, and the Penghu Islands. It is known to dwell at a depth of 20 metres (66 ft), and inhabits lagoons and reefs; it forms solitary burrows in sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 75 centimetres (30 in).[3]
| Napoleon snake eel | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Ophichthidae |
| Genus: | Ophichthus |
| Species: | O. bonaparti |
| Binomial name | |
| Ophichthus bonaparti (Kaup, 1856) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Etymology
The fish is named in honor of biologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte (1803-1857), who supplied the type specimen.[5]
