Marbled Snake Eel, Callechelys marmorata (Bleeker 1853)


Other Names: Marbled Snake-eel

A Marbled Snake Eel, Callechelys marmorata, at Mabul Island, Sabah, Malaysia, August 2011. Source: terence zahner / iNaturalist.org. License: CC By Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:
A yellowish white snake eel with the body and fins speckled and spotted with darker coalescing spots and blotches.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2021, Callechelys marmorata in Fishes of Australia, accessed 19 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/2891

Marbled Snake Eel, Callechelys marmorata (Bleeker 1853)

More Info


Distribution

Ningaloo Reef and offshore reefs of north Western Australia, Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, and the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland; also Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and the Lord Howe Province in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, Indo-west-central Pacific.
Inhabits sandy, silty and gravel areas, usually with its head poking from the sand.

Features

Vertebrae 174-183. 

Etymology

The specific name is from the Latin marmorata (= marbled) in reference to the pattern of dark spots and large dark blotches on the body and fins.

Species Citation

Dalophis marmorata Bleeker 1853, Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië 5: 247. Type locality: Siboga, western Sumatra, Indonesia.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2021

Resources

Marbled Snake Eel, Callechelys marmorata (Bleeker 1853)

References


Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls. 

Allen, G.R., Hoese, D.F., Paxton, J.R., Randall, J.E., Russell, B.C., Starck, W.A., Talbot, F.H. & Whitley, G.P. 1976. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Records of the Australian Museum 30(15): 365-454 figs 1-2 

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp. 

Allen, G.R. & Russell, B.C. 1986. Part VII Fishes. pp. 79-103 in Berry, P.F. (ed.) Faunal Surveys of the Rowley Shoals, Scott Reef and Seringapatam Reef, northwestern Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 25: 1-106 

Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp. 

Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls. 

Bleeker, P. 1853. Derde bijdrage tot de kennis der ichthyologische fauna van Ceram. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië 5: 233-248 See ref at BHL

Bleeker, P. 1853. Bijdrage tot de kennis der Muraenoïden en Symbranchoïden van den Indischen Archipel. Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen 25(5): 1-62. See ref at BHL

Bleeker, P. 1865. Synonyma Muraenorum indo-archipelagicorum hucusque observatorum revisa, adjectis habitationibus citationibusque, ubi descriptiones figuraeque eorum recentiores repertiuntur. Nederlandsch Tijdschrift voor de Dierkunde 2: 123-136 

Francis, M. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170 figs 1-2 http://hdl.handle.net/10125/1755

Francis, M.P. 2019. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Version: 2019.2 figshare. Collection. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4428305.v2

Fricke, R., Kulbicki, M. & Wantiez, L. 2011. Checklist of the fishes of New Caledonia, and their distribution in the Southwest Pacific Ocean (Pisces). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Serie A (Biologie) Neue Serie 4: 341-463 

Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S.J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Checklist and new records of Christmas Island fishes: the influence of isolation, biogeography and habitat availability on species abundance and community composition. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 184–202 https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/rbz/supplement-no-30/

McCosker, J.E. 1977. The osteology, classification, and relationships of the eel family Ophichthidae. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 41(1): 1-123 figs 1-45 

McCosker, J.E. 1998. A revision of the snake-eel genus Callechelys (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) with description of two new Indo-Pacific species and a new callechelyin genus. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 50(7): 185-215 See ref at BHL

McCosker, J.E. & Castle, P.H.J. 1986. Family No. 42: Ophichthidae. pp. 176-186 in Smith, M.M. & Heemstra, P.C. (eds). Smith's Sea Fishes. Johannesburg : Macmillan South Africa xx + 1047 pp. 144 pls. 

McCosker, J.E., Hatooka, K., N. Ohnishi, N. & Endo, H. 2011. Redescription and designation of a neotype for Aphthalmichthys kuro Kuroda 1947, and its placement in Callechelys (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae). Ichthyological Research 58: 272-277 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-011-0238-y

Moore, G.I., Morrison, S.M., Hutchins, B.J., Allen, G.R. & Sampey, A. 2014. Kimberley marine biota. Historical data: fishes. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 84: 161-206 

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs. 

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs. 

Smith, D.G. & McCosker, J.E. 1999. Family Ophichthidae. pp. 1662-1699 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 3 pp. 1397-2068.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37068012

Behaviour:Burrowing

Depth:2-37 m

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:87 cm TL

Species Image Gallery

Species Maps

CAAB distribution map