Species: Quassiremus ascensionis, Blackspotted snake eel
body - 2 rows dark & red-brown ocelli; head - dense small spots
Quassiremus ascensionis (Studer, 1889)
Blackspotted snake eel
Body stout, compressed at rear; tail 44-47% of TL; snout conical, overhanging, with a short groove underneath; front nostril tubular, rear nostril opens into mouth; lips without barbells; teeth pointed, in single rows on jaws and roof of mouth; gill opening a vertical crescent low on side; dorsal fin origin behind gill opening; pectoral fin minute (< eye diameter), its narrow base opposite the top ½ of the gill opening; tail tip a blunt, finless point; lateral line complete, lines of each side of head connected by 2 canals with across top of head.
Body mid-grey above, pale below; 2 rows dark centered, red-brown ringed ocelli, along top of back and along mid-flank; head pale with a dense network of small dark spots.
Reaches 71 cm.
Seagrass and sand and rubble bottoms.
Depth range: 2-12 m.
Bermuda to Brazil and the central Atlantic.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom only
- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Soft bottom only
- Sand & gravel
- Submerged vegetation
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic worms
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Data
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- Transatlantic (East+West Atlantic)
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- All species
- Regional Endemism
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- Also in Brazil
- Extends South of GC
- Island (s) only
- All species
- Island (s)
- GC non-endemic
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 71
- Depth Range Min
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- 2
- Depth Range Max
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- 12
