Estuary Snake Eel, Pisodonophis boro (Hamilton-Buchanan 1822)


Other Names: Estuary Snake-eel, Rice-paddy Eel

Estuary Snake Eel, Pisodonophis boro. Source: Dinh D. Tran, FiMSeA / http://ffish.asia. License: CC by Attribution

Summary:
A slender cylindrical olive-brown snake eel with a paler underside, and the dorsal fin origin about one pectoral-fin length behind the pectoral-fin tip. 

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2022, Pisodonophis boro in Fishes of Australia, accessed 13 Nov 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/2907

Estuary Snake Eel, Pisodonophis boro (Hamilton-Buchanan 1822)

More Info


Distribution

Dirk Hartog Island, Western Australia, to  Vanderlin Island, Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, Indo-west-central Pacific.
Inhabits soft sediment areas in lagoons, estuaries and coastal marine waters; also enters freshwater and rice paddy fields.

Features

Vertebrae 167-170. 
Body slender, cylindrical, compressed only along extreme tail tip; anterior nostril tubular, posterior nostril along lower edge of lip; teeth granular to molariform, multiserial bands on jaws and vomer, but sharper on jaws and more pointed in juveniles; median fins not continuous posteriorly; extreme tip of tail stiff and finless; dorsal fin origin about a pectoral fin length behind tips of pectoral fins; lateral line inconspicuous.

Etymology

The specific name boro is a variety of rice, and the local name for this species in India, presumably in reference to the rice paddy habitat of this species.

Species Citation

Ophisurus boro Hamilton 1822, An account of the fishes found in the River Ganges and its branches: 20, 363. Type locality: Ganges estuary near Calcutta, India.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2022

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Estuary Snake Eel, Pisodonophis boro (Hamilton-Buchanan 1822)

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. & 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.

Chaudhry, S. 2010. Pisodonophis boro. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T166552A6234729. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T166552A6234729.en. Accessed on 10 January 2022.

Hamilton, F. 1822. An account of the fishes found in the River Ganges and its branches. Edinburgh : Archibald Constable 405 pp., pls 1-39.

Larson, H.K., Williams, R.S. & Hammer, M.P. 2013. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Northern Territory, Australia. Zootaxa 3696(1): 1-293

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. & 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.

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:37068034

Behaviour:Burrowing

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:0-20 m

Max Size:100 cm TL

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