Teleostei (teleosts) >
Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) >
Ophichthidae (Snake eels) > Ophichthinae
Etymology: Ophichthus: Greek, ophis = serpent + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335); johnmccoskeri: Named after John E. McCosker, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, in honour of his vast contributions to the taxonomy of ophichthid eels.
Eponymy: Dr John Edward McCosker (d: 1945) is an ichthyologist and evolutionary biologist who is Senior Scientist and first Professor of Aquatic Research at California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal. Tropical
Eastern Indian Ocean: India.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 36.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 129615)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Vertebrae: 156 - 158. This moderate-sized species is distinguished by the following characters: preanal length 2-6 in TL; DFO well behind the pectoral-fin tip; pectoral fin well developed and rounded; posterior nostril a hole in the upper lip opening towards the mouth and covered by a flap; single barbel between the anterior and posterior nostrils; teeth elongated, conical and sharp, vomerine teeth biserial anteriorly, multi- to triserial and biserial medially, and in a single row posteriorly, while maxillary teeth biserial anteriorly and triserial posteriorly, lower jaw teeth in a single row followed by biserial and triserial teeth posteriorly, tip of lower jaw toothless; vertebrae, predorsal 24, preanal 51-52, total 156-158 (Ref. 129615).
Cross section: oval.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Mohapatra, A., D. Ray, S.R. Mohanty and S.S. Mishra, 2018. Ophichthus johnmccoskeri sp. nov. (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae): a new snake eel from Indian waters, Bay of Bengal. Zootaxa 4462(2):251-256. (Ref. 129615)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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