Genus: Gordiichthys, Horsehair Eel, Horsehair Eels
teeth protrude between top jaws
gill opening low
GORDIICHTHYS
HORSEHAIR EELS
Body very elongate (depth <1.5% of TL), cylindrical; tail 41-48% of TL, with a blunt, finless tip; snout short, overhanging; underside of snout with a central groove that exposes protruding teeth; eye small; front nostril not protruding but may partly set off by a curved groove on the underside of the snout; rear nostril a vertical slit at level of eye opening into mouth; jaws short, lower jaw not reaching front nostril; lips without barbels; teeth small, conical, in single series on jaws; gill opening crescentic, low on side; dorsal fin origin on head; median fins low, extending nearly to finless tail tip; no pectoral fins; lateral line complete, lines of each side of head connected by 2 canals with across top of head.
A neotropical to warm temperate genus with 5 species; four endemic to our region.
