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Species: Aplatophis zorro, Snaggle-toothed snake-eel

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large, humped head
top snout concave
eye low
teeth large, exposed
side head: pale Z mark

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Aplatophis zorro McCosker & Robertson, 2001

Snaggle-toothed snake-eel

Body stout, not elongate, compressed at rear; head and trunk slightly longer than tail (51-54% of TL); head long and fat, with a hump over and behind the eye; snout short, narrow, upper profile concave; mouth oblique, jaws elongate, the lower one projecting; tongue developed as a fleshy lure; front teeth developed as very large fangs extending outside mouth when closed; jaw teeth in two rows, teeth on roof of mouth few, a single series that joins those at front of jaws; a short barbel below eye; eye small, low on head above and a little before middle of mouth; front nostril tubular, rear nostril a tube before and beneath eye; gill opening vertical, elongate, on side; dorsal fin origin behind pectoral tips; tail tip blunt; pectoral fins pointed, with narrow base.

Body and head grey-brown, paler on lower 1/3; eye grey; pectoral fin a little darker than body; dorsal fin same color as body, with thin black margin; anal fin same color as lower body with outer 1/3 black; tip of tail pale; lateral line pores on body not in pale spots; pores around mouth and on side of head above and before gill opening in small pale spots; lines of white dots on side and top of the head, which form the letter U across the top of the head (when viewed from above) and a zigzag on the side of the head that forms the letter Z on the right side.

Size: 104 cm.

Habitat: mud bottom in estuary. Known from a single specimen collected by a shrimp trawler.

Depth: 5-10 m.

Eastern Panama.


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Salinity
  • Brackish
  • Non Marine
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore
  • Inshore Only
Water Column Position
  • Bottom only
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Estuary
  • Mud
  • Sand & gravel
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
  • Soft bottom only
FishBase Habitat
  • Demersal
Feeding Group
  • Carnivore
  • No Data
Diet
  • Bony fishes
  • No Data
Egg Type
  • Pelagic larva
  • Pelagic
  • No data
Global Endemism
  • All species
  • Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic
  • East Pacific endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Panamic province endemic
  • All species
  • Continent only
  • Continent
  • Continental TEP endemic
  • TEP endemic
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
IUCN Red List
  • Listed
  • Data deficient
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 104
Depth Range Min
  • 5
Depth Range Max
  • 10