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Ophidiiformes (Cusk eels) >
Ophidiidae (Cusk-eels) > Ophidiinae
Etymology: Lepophidium: Latin, lepus, leporis = rabbit + Greek, ophis = serpent (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Dr Jeanne Schwengel née Sanderson (1889–1961) was a malacologist who was a research associate of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. She collected the cusk-eel holotype while dredging for molluscs. (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Fowler.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 25 - 280 m (Ref. 91765), usually 25 - 100 m (Ref. 91765). Tropical; 37°N - 18°N, 96°W - 73°W (Ref. 91765)
Western Atlantic: S North Carolina through the Florida Keys and around the Gulf of Mexico; with one record from the Cuban side of the Straits of Florida.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 29.6 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 91765)
Dorsal soft rays (total): 133 - 140; Anal soft rays: 110 - 119; Vertebrae: 73 - 77. Rostral spine long and curved, reaching tip of snout, without vertical basal component; peritoneum pale; no median basibranchial tooth patch; head extensively covered with imbricate rows of cycloid scales except for snout and throat; body tapering to point, dagger-shaped (Ref. 34024).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.
Uncommon species (Ref. 34024). Reported to reach 280 m depth (Ref. 7251). Oviparous, with oval pelagic eggs floating in a gelatinous mass (Ref. 205).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Robins, C.R., R.H. Robins and M.E. Brown, 2012. A revision of Lepophidium (Teleoastei, Ophidiidae), with descriptions of eight new species. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 52(1):1-94. (Ref. 91765)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
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