Leiuranus semicinctus, Saddled snake-eel

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Leiuranus semicinctus (Lay & Bennett, 1839)

Saddled snake-eel
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Leiuranus semicinctus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Leiuranus semicinctus (Saddled snake-eel)
Leiuranus semicinctus
Picture by Randall, J.E.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) > Ophichthidae (Snake eels) > Ophichthinae
Etymology: Leiuranus: Greek, leios = smooth + Greek, oura = tail (Ref. 45335).
More on authors: Lay & Bennett.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 70 m, usually 0 - 10 m (Ref. 37816). Tropical; 40°N - 40°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indo-Pacific: East Africa to the Hawaiian, Marquesan, and Mangaréva islands, north to southern Japan, south to northern New South Wales, Australia. Also recorded from Southeast Atlantic: South Africa (Ref. 3972).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 66.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1602)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0; Vertebrae: 162 - 171. White to yellow with 25-30 black saddles (Ref. 3972).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occurs in sandy areas and seagrass beds of both lagoon and seaward reefs. Uses its stiff pointed tail to rapidly burrow backwards into the sand when frightened (Ref. 37816). Benthic (Ref. 58302). Feeds on sand-dwelling fishes and crabs and prawns. Sometimes fully exposed when searching for prey (Ref. 30874). Rises to the surface to spawn (Ref. 37816).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Rises to the surface to spawn. Once there, one or more males may seize a female by the back of the neck and remain attached for hours before spawning occurs.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : McCosker, John E. | Collaborators

Myers, R.F., 1991. Micronesian reef fishes. Second Ed. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 298 p. (Ref. 1602)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 24 November 2020

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.4 - 29.2, mean 28.1 °C (based on 2893 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.7500   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00089 (0.00039 - 0.00204), b=3.00 (2.80 - 3.20), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.1   ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (46 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 41.4 [23.4, 74.3] mg/100g; Iron = 0.539 [0.328, 0.918] mg/100g; Protein = 18.8 [16.5, 21.3] %; Omega3 = 0.119 [0.055, 0.328] g/100g; Selenium = 45 [25, 87] μg/100g; VitaminA = 45.4 [13.4, 149.6] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.26 [0.89, 1.74] mg/100g (wet weight);