Giant Snake Eel
Ophisurus serpens
Snake eels
snakeeel
About
Snake eels are thin, snake-like eels that spend most of their time buried in sand or mud. In this app the group includes the Harlequin Snake Eel, the Marbled Snake Eel, and the Tiger Snake Eel.
How to tell it apart
A thin, snake-like body with a pointed tail tip, often seen with just the head poking out of sand or mud, marks a snake eel; true sea snakes surface to breathe air and have visible scales. Spotted or striped patterns that mimic sea snakes are common and can help tell members apart by colour.
Appearance
Snake eels have a long, cylindrical, snake-like body. Many species have no fins at all, which helps them burrow into sand like a worm. Size varies widely across the group, from about 5 centimetres up to 2.3 metres. Many are spotted or striped, a pattern that can make them look like venomous sea snakes.
Habitat
Snake eels live worldwide in warm tropical and temperate waters. Most are bottom-dwellers found in sand or mud, from shallow coastal water and even rivers down to depths below 800 metres, though a few live in open water instead.
Diet
Most snake eels hide in the sand or mud to ambush prey, feeding on crustaceans and small fish.
Is it dangerous?
harmless to humans (some mimic venomous sea snakes)
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
