Slender snipe eel
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| Nemichthys scolopaceus Richardson, 1848 |
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The slender snipe eel, Nemichthys scolopaceus, is a fish that can weigh only a few ounces, yet reach 5 feet or 1.5 m in length. Features include a bird-like beak with curving tips, covered with tiny hooked teeth, which they use to sweep through the water to catch shrimp and other crustaceans. It has a lifespan of ten years.
It has more vertebrae in its backbone than any other animal, around 750. However, its anus has moved forward during its evolution and is now located on its throat. Its larvae are shaped like leaves, which actually get smaller before transforming into adults.
Many specimens found in museums were spat up from larger fish that were caught in trawls.
[edit] References
- Nemichthys scolopaceus (TSN 161624). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 30 January 2006.
- "Nemichthys scolopaceus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. 10 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.
- Monterrey bay aquarium about Slender snipe eel
- Tim Flannery and Peter Schouten, Astonishing Animals: Extraordinary Creatures and the Fantastic Worlds They Inhabit. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2004. Page 181.
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