Sooty eel
| Sooty eel | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Ophichthidae |
| Genus: | Bascanichthys |
| Species: | B. bascanium |
| Binomial name | |
| Bascanichthys bascanium (Jordan, 1884) | |
| Synonyms | |
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The sooty eel (Bascanichthys bascanium) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by David Starr Jordan in 1884, originally under the genus Caecula. 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).
The sooty eel is preyed on by the Atlantic tripletail.