Species: Trachinocephalus myops, Snakefish, Bluntnose Lizardfish

Trachinocephalus myops (Forster, 1801)

Snakefish, Bluntnose Lizardfish

Body robust, cylindrical; head blunt, snout shorter than eye; mouth large, strongly oblique, lower jaw slightly projecting; many rows fine pointed teeth on jaws, tongue and 1 band on each side of roof of mouth; fins without spines; one dorsal fin in mid-body, with a small skin-flap fin behind it above anal fin; pelvics on abdomen behind pectoral base, inserted before dorsal fin, with 8 rays, the inner rays distinctly longer than the outer rays; anal fin base longer than dorsal base, 15-17 rays, its origin about midway between insertion of pectoral fin and tail fin base; lateral line straight, along entire body; scales smooth, 53-59 lateral line scales; tail fin with small scales on short rays on upper and lower parts of base of fin.

Pale grey brown, yellow along side of body; an oval black spot at top corner of operculum; a series of pale blue stripes narrowly edged in black along sides of body.

Reaches 40 cm.

Sand, rubble and mud bottoms, often around reefs.

Depth range: 1-430 m.

Trans-Atlantic; Massachusetts to Brazil.