Species: Ophichthus apachus, Thin snake-eel

Ophichthus apachus McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1998

Thin snake-eel

Body very slender and elongate; tail 75% or more of TL; eye large, about over middle of mouth; front nostril tubular under snout; rear nostril opens just above lip, covered by a flap that extends below lip; snout overhanging; a small tentacle between front and rear nostrils; mouth large; teeth pointed, small, numerous, close-set, in 2 rows on jaws, 1 row on roof of mouth; gill opening vertical, semicircular; dorsal origin from just before to just after pectoral tip; tip of tail a blunt, finless point; pectoral fins well developed, larger than eye, with restricted bases - opposite and above upper half of gill opening, long and slender; lateral line not abruptly arched at rear of head.

(Preserved specimen) Tan, sides dusted with dots, denser above; chin with a dark smudge; pores on head in thin dark rings, that on lateral line unmarked.

Size: reaches over 60 cm.

Habitat: benthic on soft bottoms.

Depth: 0-8 m.

Mexico (Tres Marias Islands) and  Costa Rica to northern Colombia.