Fish of the Ophisurus genus of the Ophichthinae subfamily of the Ophichthidae (snake eels) family of the Congroidei suborder of the Anguilliformes (eels) order of the Elopomorpha superorder.
(Serpent eel. Photo by © slobodnadalmacija.com)
Serpent eel (Ophisurus serpens) was first described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778).
It occurs at the depth of 10-300 meters. It digs shallow burrows in the sandy, argillaceous and muddy bottom and hides there. Sometimes it enters the river mouths. The maximum recorded length is 250 cm. Specimens up to 100 cm are more common. It feeds on fish, mollusks and crustaceans.
(Serpent eel. Photo by © Bernat Garrigós. flickr.com/photos/130228840)
It is a permanent infrequent inhabitant of the Adriatic Sea.
Names of serpent eel (Ophisurus serpens) in other languages are as follows:
Ngjala gjarpërore (Albanian), Φίδι της Θάλασσας (Fidi tis Faljassas) (Greek), Culebra de mar (Spanish), Serpente di mare (Italian), Mittelmeer-Schlangenaal (German), Zmijak piaskowy (Polish), Змеехвостый угорь (Zmeyehvosty ugorj) (Russian) Zmija zubuša (Croatian, Serbian), Zobata jegulja (Slovenian), Yılankurdu balığı (Turkish), Serpenton à nez long (French), Hadař hadovitý (Czech).