Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean online information system

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Genus: Apterichtus, Finless Eel, Finless Eels


All Families:   All Genera:   All Species:

snout sharp, overhanging
eye not tiny
no fins
tail tip = hard point
nostrils: front tubular, rear = slit on outside of lip

APTERICHTUS

FINLESS EELS

Body elongate, cylindrical, pointed at both ends, entirely finless; head and trunk a little shorter than tail; snout pointed, conical, overhanging, underside flattened and grooved; eye moderately developed; front nostril tubular, rear one a horizontal slit along top lip edge or entirely outside mouth before a lip flange; gill openings below, converging forward; teeth pointed, in single rows on jaws; tail tip a hard finless point; lateral line complete, lines of each side of head connected by 2 canals with across top of head.

The genus, which occurs in all tropical seas, has 18 species. Two Atlantic species occur in the Greater Caribbean.