Napoleon snake eel | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Anguilliformes |
Family: | Ophichthidae |
Genus: | Ophichthus |
Species: | O. bonaparti
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Binomial name | |
Ophichthus bonaparti (Kaup, 1856)
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Synonyms[1] | |
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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]
The fish is named in honor of biologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte (1803-1857), who supplied the type specimen.[5]