Species: Heteroconger luteolus, Yellow Garden Eel

Heteroconger luteolus Smith, 1989

Yellow Garden Eel

Body very elongate, compressed; tail much longer than head and trunk; head short, snout very short (<eye); mouth very short (not reaching rear of eye), oblique, lower jaw only a little projecting; teeth in broad bands on jaw and roof of mouth; top lip flanges continuous across front of snout and enclosing front (tubular) nostrils; rear nostril a hole before eye; pectoral fins tiny (much smaller than eye) skin flaps; tip of tail stiff, with obvious but small tail fin; dorsal and anal fins continuous with the tail fin; 139-148 vertebrae; numerous pores on lateral line.

Bright yellow on upper 1/2 of head and front body, with numerous scattered small dark dots, abruptly white on lower half; lips dark at front; eye with a black bar separating a yellow upper part and white lower part of iris.

Reaches 50 cm.

On sandy bottoms.

Depth range at least 15-37 m.

The Gulf of Mexico to the Bahamas.