The sooty eel[2] (Bascanichthys bascanium) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[3] It was described by David Starr Jordan in 1884, originally under the genus Caecula.[4] It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including North Carolina and Florida, USA, and the Gulf of Mexico. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 27 metres (0 to 89 ft). Males can reach a maximum total length of 70 centimetres (2.3 ft).[3]
| Sooty eel | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Ophichthidae |
| Genus: | Bascanichthys |
| Species: | B. bascanium
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| Binomial name | |
| Bascanichthys bascanium (Jordan, 1884)
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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The sooty eel is preyed on by the Atlantic tripletail.[5]
References edit
- ^ Synonyms of Bascanichthys bascanium at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ Common names of Bascanichthys bascanium at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ a b Bascanichthys bascanium at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ Jordan, D. S., 1884 (22 Apr.) [ref. 10442] List of fishes from Egmont Key, Florida, in the Museum of Yale College, with description of two new species. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia v. 36: 42-46.
- ^ Organisms Preying on Bascanichthys bascanium at www.fishbase.org.
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