Ophichthus cuulongensis Vo, Hibino & Ho, 2025
Mekong’s estuary snake eel
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drawing shows typical species in Ophichthidae.
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drawing shows typical species in Ophichthidae.
Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) > Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) > Ophichthidae (Snake eels) > Ophichthinae
Etymology: Ophichthus: Greek, ophis = serpent + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335); cuulongensis: Name 'cuulongensis' from the species type locality, Mekong River’s estuary (Sông Cửu Long).
Etymology: Ophichthus: Greek, ophis = serpent + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335); cuulongensis: Name 'cuulongensis' from the species type locality, Mekong River’s estuary (Sông Cửu Long).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology
Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 8 - 20 m (Ref. 133101). Tropical
Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri
Western Central Pacific: Vietnam.
Size / Weight / Age
Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Vertebrae: 199 - 207. This species is distinguished by the following set of characters: occipital not convex prominently, dorsal of snout with median shallow groove, reaching to interorbital pore; three or more shallow wrinkles (usually 3) on posterior part of eye; body with numerous longitudinal wrinkles, also prominent on abdomen; head length 5.2-6.2% TL; tail length 65.4-68.8% TL; two protrusions along upper lip from each side (some paratypes 1 on one side); dorsal-fin origin slightly behind pectoral-fin tip; SO 1 + 3, POM 5 (or rarely 6) + 2; teeth small (but larger in intermaxillary and anterior vomer); body dark brown, paler abdomen; dark-margined dorsal fin, anal fin initially pale but in posterior part with faded dark margin, the area more than two head length; total vertebrae 199-207, MVF 14-62-202 (Ref. 133101).
Body shape (shape guide): eel-like; Cross section: circular.
Body shape (shape guide): eel-like; Cross section: circular.
Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Main reference
Upload your references | References | Coordinator : McCosker, John E. | Collaborators
Vo, Q.V., Y. Hibino, H.-C. Ho, T.T.T. Le and Y.G. Seah, 2025. Two new snake eels (Anguilliformes, Ophichthidae, Ophichthus) from Viet Nam, with redescriptions of O. macrochir (Bleeker) and O. rutidoderma (Bleeker). ZooKeys 1231:311-329. (Ref. 133101)
CITES
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |
More information
Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genome
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Genetic Diversity
Genome
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Genetic Diversity
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record
Estimates based on models
|
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804) |
PD50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high]. |
| Bayesian length-weight | a=0.00093 (0.00041 - 0.00212), b=2.99 (2.79 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245). |
|
Trophic level (Ref. 69278) |
4.1 ±0.7 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives |
|
Resilience (Ref. 120179) |
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.). |
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Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153) |
Moderate to high vulnerability (45 of 100). 🛈 |