Species: Leptenchelys vermiformis, Slender worm-eel
head pores raised
Leptenchelys vermiformis Myers & Wade, 1941
Slender worm-eel
Long, cylindrical, wormlike; tail 42% of TL; top of head and snout covered with papillae; head pointed with snout projecting well beyond mouth; teeth on jaws small, conical, in single rows, two teeth between top jaws and 2-4 on vomer; front nostril tubular, points down; rear nostril on underside of top lip; eye very small; gill openings low on sides, almost vertical, curved; gill pouch puffed out; dorsal origin on head before gill opening; pectorals absent; tail tip flexible, tail fin confluent with dorsal and anal fins; lateral line extends onto head over eye and onto snout, branching around rear of eye and along top jaw, and with large pores along side of lower jaw.
Uniform light yellow.
Size: 12 cm.
Habitat: mud and sand bottoms.
Depth: 20-85 m.
Central Mexico to Costa Rica.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Marine Only
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom only
- Bottom
- Habitat
-
- Mud
- Soft bottom only
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
-
- No Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
-
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- No Data
- Bony fishes
- Egg Type
-
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- No data
- Global Endemism
-
- East Pacific endemic
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic
- All species
- Regional Endemism
-
- TEP endemic
- Continent
- Continent only
- Continental TEP endemic
- All species
- Mexican + Panamic provinces endemic
- Residency
-
- Resident
- Climate Zone
-
- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- IUCN Red List
-
- Data deficient
- Listed
- CITES
-
- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 12
- Depth Range Min
-
- 20
- Depth Range Max
-
- 85
