Slender Worm-eel, Scolecenchelys gymnota (Bleeker 1857)

Other Names: Indo-Pacific Slender Worm-eel, Slender Worm Eel

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2020, Scolecenchelys gymnota in Fishes of Australia, accessed 27 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/3145

Slender Worm-eel, Scolecenchelys gymnota (Bleeker 1857)

More Info

Distribution	North West Cape, Western Australia, and Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea, around the tropical north to the Capricorn Group, Great Barrier Reef, southern Queensland. Elsewhere the species is widespread in the Indo-Pacific: Red Sea, South Africa to Fiji, north to central Honshu Island, Japan, south to Australia. Inhabits sandy and gravelly areas in tide pools and on coral reefs to depths of 60 m.
Features	Vertebrae 118-135, predorsal 51-57, preanal 47-52. Distinguished by the following set of characters: 2 infraorbital pores found at the postorbital area; snout acute with no median ventral groove; rictus of mouth slightly posterior to a vertical line through the posterior margin of the eye; pointed conical teethon upper jaw and vomer, arranged biserially on upper jaw, uniserially on vomer; dorsal-fin origin posterior to a vertical line through the anus, horizontal distance between the origin and the vertical line 13-55% HL; tail 54-58% TL.
Colour	Colour brownish, darker along the back with many blackish spots, thorax brownish,fins unpigmented.
Feeding	Feeds on small fishes and crustaceans.
Similar Species	Scolecenchelys iredalei differs distinctly from S. australis in having fewer vertebrae [preanal vertebrae 53–56 vs. 60–63; total 122–129 vs. 145–156], fewer postorbital pores (two vs. three), and a shorter tail (51–54 % TL vs. 55–58 %).
Species Citation	Muraenichthys gymnotus Bleeker 1857, Acta Soc. Scient. Indo-Neerlandicae 2: 90. Type locality: Ambon Bay, Ambon Island, Indonesia.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2020
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Slender Worm-eel, Scolecenchelys gymnota (Bleeker 1857)

References

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Bleeker, P. 1857. Achtste bijdrage tot de kennis der vischfauna van Amboina. Acta Societatis Scientiarum Indo-Neerlandicae 2: 1-102.

Castle, P.J. & McCosker, J.E. 1999. A new genus and two new species of Myrophine worm-eels, with comments on Muraenichthys and Scolecenchelys (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae). Records of the Australian Museum 51(2, 3): 113-122. PDF Open access

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