Species: Pythonichthys sanguineus, Caribbean Mud Eel
eye very small

Pythonichthys sanguineus Poey, 1868
Caribbean Mud Eel
Body circular in cross-section at front, compressed at rear; tail long (~75% of TL); long head; a low skin ridge on side of snout forward of eye; very small eye, covered by transparent skin; rear nostril slit-like, just before and above eye; front nostril round with raised rim; mouth large, opens at front, ends well behind eye; teeth conical to molar-like, in 2-3 rows on jaws and 1-several at front of roof of mouth; a pair of fleshy folds on roof of mouth and papillae on top lip before front nostril; gill opening crescent shaped, small, low on side; no pectoral fins; dorsal and anal fins very reduced, more exposed just before they join the tail fin; dorsal fin origin near gill opening; no scales; no lateral line or pores on head.
Color: skin translucent, reddish due to color of surface blood vessels; dorsal and most of anal and tail fins black.
Reaches 80 cm.
Lives in mud bottoms.
Depth range: 12-55 m.
Cuba to the Amazon

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Brackish
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Bottom only
- Habitat
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- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Soft bottom only
- Estuary
- Mud
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Mobile benthic worms
- Egg Type
-
- Data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Also in Brazil
- Continent
- Continent + Island (s)
- Extends South of GC
- GC non-endemic
- Island (s)
- All species
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 80
- Depth Range Min
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- 12
- Depth Range Max
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- 55