Cutthroat eels
Muddy arrowtooth eel, Ilyophis brunneus.
From plate 43 of Oceanic Ichthyology by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean, published 1896.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Suborder: Synaphobranchoidei
Family: Synaphobranchidae
J. Y. Johnson, 1862
Genera[1]

Cutthroat eels are a family, Synaphobranchidae, of eels, the only members of the suborder Synaphobranchoidei. They are found worldwide in temperate and tropical seas.[2][3]

Cutthroat eels range from 23 to 160 cm (9.1 to 63.0 in) in length. They are bottom-dwelling fish, found in deep waters down to about 3,700 m (12,100 ft).[4] They are distinguished by the presence of telescopic eyes in the larvae. In some classifications (for example, ITIS), this family is split, with Simenchelys in its own family, the Simenchelyidae.

References

  1. ^ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2012). "Synaphobranchidae" in FishBase. December 2012 version.
  2. ^ "eel | fish". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  3. ^ "Marine Species Identification Portal : Cutthroat eels - Family Synaphobranchidae". species-identification.org. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  4. ^ McCosker, John F. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 90. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.


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