''Monopterus'' is a genus of
swamp eels native to Asia.
They live in various freshwater habitats and some have a
fossorial
A fossorial animal () is one that is adapted to digging and which lives primarily (but not solely) underground. Examples of fossorial vertebrates are Mole (animal), moles, badgers, naked mole-rats, meerkats, armadillos, wombats, and mole salamand ...
lifestyle.
[Britz, R., Doherty-Bone, T.M., Kouete, M.T., Sykes, D. & Gower, D.J. (2016)]
''Monopterus luticolus'', a new species of swamp eel from Cameroon (Teleostei: Synbranchidae).
''Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 27 (4): 309-323.''
Species
Four recognized species are placed in this genus:
* ''
M. albus''
( Zuiew, 1793) (Asian swamp eel)
* ''M. bicolor''
H. D. Nguyễn & V. H. Nguyễn, 2005
* ''M. dienbienensis''
V. H. Nguyễn & H. D. Nguyễn, 2005
* ''M. javanensis''
Lacépède, 1800
Six species from
South Asia
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
(''M. cuchia'', ''
M. desilvai'', ''M. hodgarti'', ''M. fossorius'', ''M. ichthyophoides'', and ''
M. indicus'') have been reclassified to the genus ''
Ophichthys''.
Four
fossorial
A fossorial animal () is one that is adapted to digging and which lives primarily (but not solely) underground. Examples of fossorial vertebrates are Mole (animal), moles, badgers, naked mole-rats, meerkats, armadillos, wombats, and mole salamand ...
or
subterranean
Subterranean(s) or The Subterranean(s) may refer to:
* Subterranea (geography), underground structures, both natural and man-made
Literature
* ''Subterranean'' (novel), a 1998 novel by James Rollins
* ''Subterranean Magazine'', an American fa ...
species (''M. digressus'', ''
M. eapeni'', ''
M. rongsaw'', and ''M. roseni'') from
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
have been reclassified to the genus ''
Rakthamichthys''.
Two species from
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
(''
M. boueti'' and ''M. luticolus'') have been reclassified to the genus ''
Typhlosynbranchus''.
References
Freshwater fish genera
Synbranchidae
Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Synbranchiformes-stub