Napoleon snake eel


The Napoleon snake eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856, originally under the genus Poecilocephalus. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including Durban, South Africa, Mauritius, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, and the Penghu Islands. It is known to dwell at a depth of, and inhabits lagoons and reefs; it forms solitary burrows in sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of.

Etymology

The fish is named in honor of biologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte, who supplied the type specimen.