Seagrass eel

Seagrass eel
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Chlopsidae
Genus:	Chilorhinus
Species:	C. suensonii
Binomial name
Chilorhinus suensonii Lütken, 1852
Synonyms[1]
Chilorhinus suensoni Lütken, 1852 (misspelling)

The seagrass eel or Suenson's worm eel,[2] Chilorhinus suensonii, is an eel in the family Chlopsidae.[3] It was described by Christian Frederik Lütken in 1852.[4] It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including Bermuda, southern Florida, USA; and Bahia, Brazil. It inhabits reefs, beds of seagrass (from which its common name is derived), and sandy regions. Males can reach a maximum total length of 18 cm.[3]

Etymology

The fish is named in honor of Edouard Suenson (1805–1887), a Danish naval officer who collected specimens during his voyages, including some of the type specimens for this species.[5]

Diet

These eels feed primarily on benthic invertebrates and finfish.[6]

References

1. Synonyms of Chilorhinus syensonii at www.fishbase.org.
2. Common names for Chilorhinus suensonii at www.fishbase.org.
3. Chilorhinus suensonii at www.fishbase.org.
4. Lütken, C. F., 1852 [ref. 2852] Nogle bemaerkinger om naeseborenes stilling hos de i gruppe med Ophisurus staaende slaegter af aalefamilien. Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra den Naturhistoriske Forening i Kjøbenhavn, Aaret 1851 (nos 1-2): 1-21, Pl. 1.
5. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (22 September 2018). "Family CHLOPSIDAE Rafinesque 1815 (False Morays)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
6. Food items reported for Chilorhinus suensonii at www.fishbase.org.