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Ophichthus pallens (Richardson, 1848)

Narrow-fin snake eel
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drawing shows typical species in Ophichthidae.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) > Ophichthidae (Snake eels) > Ophichthinae
Etymology: Ophichthus: Greek, ophis = serpent + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335); pallens: Name from Latin meaning pale (Ref. 131479).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal. Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Northwest Pacific: Japan to China.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 33.6 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 131479)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Vertebrae: 169 - 173. This species is distinguished by the following characters: head 7.7-7.9% TL; tail 61% TL; body depth at gill opening 2.1-2.5% TL; dorsal-fin origin is behind pectoral-fin tip by about two pectoral-fin lengths; pectoral fin is elongate; posterior nostril a hole within upper lip, not visible externally; upper lip with two small but prominent protrusions beneath first infraorbital pore and mid-orbit; supraorbital pores one + three; mandibular pores 5; preopercular pores 2; teeth are small and conical, irregularly biserial on jaws and vomer; total vertebrae169-173, mean vertebral formula 18-64-171. Colouration: uniform tan dorsally and pale ventrally, fins are pale without dark margins (Ref. 131479).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : McCosker, John E. | Collaborators

Hibino, Y., J.E. McCosker and F. Tashiro, 2019. Four new deepwater Ophichthus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) from Japan with a redescription of Ophichthus pallens (Richardson 1848). Ichthyological Research 66(2):289-306. (Ref. 131479)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)

Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures
References
References

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00091 (0.00039 - 0.00215), b=2.99 (2.79 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.8   ±0.6 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (24 of 100).