Ophichthidae

whip eel

Bascanichthys scuticaris

A whip shaped body hidden in Florida sands

• Brown
• Tropical
• Regional distribution
• Marine fish
• Atlantic Ocean
• North America
• Anguilliform
• Large
• Tropical fish

The whip eel (Bascanichthys scuticaris, also known as the sooty eel) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean in 1880. It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including the United States and the Gulf of Mexico.