Shortfinned worm eel | |
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Scientific classification
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Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Anguilliformes |
Family: | Ophichthidae |
Genus: | Scolecenchelys |
Species: | S. australis
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Binomial name | |
Scolecenchelys australis (Macleay, 1881)
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Synonyms [1] | |
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The shortfinned worm eel (Scolecenchelys australis, also known commonly as the shortfin worm eel, worm eel, southern worm eel, Down's worm eel, or Tasmanian worm eel [2]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). [3] It was described by William John Macleay in 1881, originally under the genus Muraenichthys. [4] It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling eel which is known from Australia, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It forms large colonies which inhabit burrows in soft sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 40 centimetres (16 in). [3]
The shortfinned worm eel's diet consists primarily of benthic crustaceans and polychaetes. [5]
Shortfinned worm eel | |
---|---|
Scientific classification
![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Anguilliformes |
Family: | Ophichthidae |
Genus: | Scolecenchelys |
Species: | S. australis
|
Binomial name | |
Scolecenchelys australis (Macleay, 1881)
| |
Synonyms [1] | |
|
The shortfinned worm eel (Scolecenchelys australis, also known commonly as the shortfin worm eel, worm eel, southern worm eel, Down's worm eel, or Tasmanian worm eel [2]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). [3] It was described by William John Macleay in 1881, originally under the genus Muraenichthys. [4] It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling eel which is known from Australia, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It forms large colonies which inhabit burrows in soft sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 40 centimetres (16 in). [3]
The shortfinned worm eel's diet consists primarily of benthic crustaceans and polychaetes. [5]