The Chlopsidae, or false morays, are a family of
eels found in
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
C ...
s worldwide. As their name suggests, they somewhat resemble
moray eel
Moray eels, or Muraenidae (), are a family of eels whose members are found worldwide. There are approximately 200 species in 15 genera which are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water, and a few are ...
s in appearance. However, they are smaller than true morays, ranging from in length.
Genera
The family contains these genera:
Family Chlopsidae
* Genus ''
Boehlkenchelys''
* Genus ''
Catesbya
''Catesbya'' is a genus of eel in the family Chlopsidae (false moray eels). It contains the single species ''Catesbya pseudomuraena'', which inhabits tropical reefs around the Bahamas in the central western Atlantic Ocean. It dwells at a depth ...
''
* Genus ''
Chilorhinus''
* Genus ''
Chlopsis''
* Genus ''
Kaupichthys''
* Genus ''
Powellichthys
''Powellichthys'' is a genus of eels in the family Chlopsidae. The sole species is ''Powellichthys ventriosus'', which inhabits tropical reefs around the Cook Islands in the central western Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the larg ...
''
* Genus ''
Robinsia
''Robinsia'' is a genus of eels in the family Chlopsidae. The sole species is ''Robinsia catherinae'', which inhabits tropical waters around Kenya in the western Indian Ocean, as well as off Panama and Brazil. It dwells at a depth range of . Male ...
''
* Genus ''
Xenoconger''
References
Marine fish families
Eels
Ray-finned fish families
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