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Napoleon snake eel (Ophichthus bonaparti)
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Napoleon snake eel (Ophichthus bonaparti) specimen
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Ophichthidae

Napoleon snake eel

Ophichthus bonaparti

Seventy Five Centimeters Eel of Indo Pacific

  • Tropical
  • Transcontinental
  • Marine fish
  • Indian Ocean
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Africa
  • East Asia
  • Oceania
  • Southeast Asia
  • Anguilliform
  • Large
  • Tropical fish

The Napoleon snake eel (Ophichthus bonaparti, also known as the Napoleon eel, the Purplebanded snake eel, or the Saddled snake-eel) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856, originally under the genus Poecilocephalus. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including Durban, South Africa, Mauritius, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, and the Penghu Islands.

Maximum length
75 cm
Water
Marine
Body shape
anguilliform
Distribution
Indo-Pacific: off Durban, South Africa, then from Mauritius to Indonesia; north to Japan, south to Australia.
Conservation status
LCLeast Concern

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