Misol Snake Eel, Yirrkala misolensis (Günther 1872)


Misol Snake Eel, Yirrkala misolensis. Source: Ho, Hsuan-Ching / Institute of Marine Biology, National Done Hwa University, Taiwan. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:
A pearl-yellow snake eel with the head and anterior body covered in an irregular brown spots and mottling. The rest of the body is brownish with whitish lateral-line pores, and a paler belly and median fins.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2024, Yirrkala misolensis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 13 Nov 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/3084

Misol Snake Eel, Yirrkala misolensis (Günther 1872)

More Info


Distribution

Possibly off Flinders Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Elsewhere the species is widespread western Pacific: off southwestern Taiwan, Viet Nam, the Philippines, and Misol Island in Indonesia.
Inhabits muddy areas at depths to 50 m.

Features

Snout pointed; dorsal fin extremely low, originating posterior to level of gill opening.

Etymology

The species is named for the type locality Misool Island (misspelled Misol), Irian Jaya, Indonesia.

Species Citation

Ophichthys misolensis Günther 1872, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 4 10(60): 426. Type locality: Misool (as Misol) Island, Irian Jaya, Indonesia.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2024

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Misol Snake Eel, Yirrkala misolensis (Günther 1872)

References


Chiu, Y.-C., Chen, H.-M. & Shao, K.-T. 2022. Additional description on morphology of the Misol snake eel from Taiwan, with four verified barcodes of life sequences. Zootaxa 5189(1): 114-121. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5189.1.13

Günther, A. 1872. On some new species of reptiles and fishes collected by J. Brenchley, Esq. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 4 10(60): 418-426. See ref at BHL

Hibino, Y. 2017. Family Ophichthidae, p. 35 in Motomura, H., Alama, U.B., Muto, N., Babaran, R.P. & Ishikawa, S. (eds). Commercial and Bycatch Market Fishes of Panay Island, Republic of the Philippines. Kagoshima, Japan : The Kagoshima University Museum.

McCosker, J.E. 1977. The osteology, classification, and relationships of the eel family Ophichthidae. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences (Series 4)41(1): 1-123. See ref at BHL

McCosker, J.E. 2011. Two new Indo-Pacific species of the sand-eel genus Yirrkala (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae). Smithiana, Publications in Aquatic Biodiversity, Bulletin 13: 45-50. 

McCosker, J., Smith, D.G. & Tighe, K. 2022. Yirrkala misolensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T199261A2575957. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T199261A2575957.en. Accessed on 01 November 2024.

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:37068053

Biology:Burrowing

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:0-50 m

Habitat:Muddy areas

Max Size:51 cm TL

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CAAB distribution map