Cutthroat eels are a family, Synaphobranchidae, of
eel
Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...
s, the only members of the suborder Synaphobranchoidei. They are found worldwide in temperate and tropical seas.
Cutthroat eels range from in length. They are
bottom-dwelling fish, found in deep waters down to about .
They are distinguished by the presence of telescopic eyes in the
larva
A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...
e. In some classifications (for example,
ITIS
The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagenc ...
), this family is split, with ''
Simenchelys'' in its own family, the Simenchelyidae.
Subfamilies and genera
Cutthroat eels are classified into the following subfamilies and genera:
*Subfamily
Simenchelyinae Gill
A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...
, 1879 (pugnose parasitic eels)
** ''
Simenchelys''
Gill, 1879
*Subfamily
Ilyophinae D. S. Jordan & Davis, 1891 (arrowtooth eels or mustard eels)
** ''
Atractodenchelys''
C.H. Robins & C. R. Robins, 1970
** ''
Dysomma''
Alcock, 1889
** ''
Dysommina''
Ginsburg, 1951
** ''
Ilyophis''
Gilbert, 1891
** ''
Linkenchelys''
D. G. Smith, 1989
** ''
Meadia''
Böhlke, 1951
** ''
Thermobiotes''
Geistdoerfer, 1991
*Subfamily
Synaphobranchinae J. Y. Johnson, 1862 (cutthroat eels)
** ''
Diastobranchus''
Barnard Barnard is a surname of Old English origin, derived from the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon given name "Beornheard". It is composed of two elements: "Beorn," meaning "young warrior" or "bear," and "heard," meaning "hardy," "brave," or "strong." In some ...
, 1923
** ''
Haptenchelys''
C. H. Robins & D. M. Martin, 1976
** ''
Histiobranchus''
Gill, 1883
** ''
Synaphobranchus''
J. Y. Johnson, 1862
References
{{anguilliformes-stub