Species: Dysomma anguillare, Shortbelly Eel

gill openings low
Dysomma anguillare Barnard, 1923
Shortbelly Eel
Body stout; anus far forward, just behind pectoral tip; snout bulbous, elongate, tip fleshy, a few inconspicuous pleats at front, with small papillae, overhangs mouth; eye small; mouth large, gape extending well behind eye; front nostril tubular, rear nostril large, with a raised rim, on side of snout below mid-eye level; upper jaw teeth tiny, in irregular multiple rows; lower jaw teeth larger, widely spaced, ~10; a row of 4 large compound teeth on roof of mouth preceded by a pair of sideways oriented teeth; gill openings low on body, well separated, below pectorals; dorsal and anal fins well developed, confluent with tail fin, dorsal fin origin over pectoral base; scales absent; lateral line almost complete.
Pallid, tan above, white below, darker at the front; lower ½ of tail and tail fin dark; dorsal and anal fins whitish.
Reaches 52 cm.
Lives on mud bottoms, often at mouths of large rivers.
Depth range: 30-270 m.
The W Atlantic and Indo-W Pacific; the Gulf of Mexico to the Orinoco area.

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
- Bony fishes
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- Circumtropical ( Indian + Pacific + Atlantic Oceans)
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent
- Continent only
- GC non-endemic
- 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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- 52
- Depth Range Min
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- 30
- Depth Range Max
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- 270