Description

Vertebrae: 150. Body extremely elongated, eel-like and roundish. No fins except a thin rayless finfold near and around the tip of the tail. No externally visible eyes. The lateral line system is distinct and continues to near the tip of the tail. Anus in anterior half of the body. Whitish coloration in the skin.

Common Names

No common names available.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Synbranchiformes

Family: Synbranchidae

Genus: Ophisternon

Species: Ophisternon candidum (Mees, 1962)

Climate Zone

Location

Biology

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Adults occur in subterranean systems (uniquely adapted to life in dark caverns and fissures). Inhabit dark subterranean waters beneath coastal limestone, occasionally sighted in wells. Burrow into soft bottom sediments. Water is brackish and under tidal influence. Can adapt to living in a lightless environment (Ref. 44894). Are carnivores feeding on invertebrates, egg layer and prefer the following aquarium conditions: pH=7.8, H=15, 25°C water temperature, salinity 1-8 ppt; rocky substrate (note that this is not a species recommended for beginning aquarists, Ref. 6398, 44894). The male guards and builds nest or burrow (Ref. 205).

Habitat

brackish