Apterichtus caecus

Apterichtus caecus, the European finless eel, is a species of snake eel native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from the Azores to the Gulf of Guinea, and into the western Mediterranean including the Balearic Islands. It can be found on the continental shelf at depths of from 10 to 40 metres (33 to 131 ft) living in burrows in mud or sand. It preys on other fishes as well as benthic invertebrates. Spawning for this species in the Mediterranean has been recorded in the early summer months of May and June. This species can reach a length of 60 centimetres (24 in) TL.^[3]

Apterichtus caecus
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Ophichthidae
Genus:	Apterichtus
Species:	A. caecus
Binomial name
Apterichtus caecus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms^[2]
Muraena caeca Linnaeus, 1758 Caecula caeca (Linnaeus, 1758) Ophichthys caecus (Linnaeus, 1758) Sphagebranchus caecus (Linnaeus, 1758) Caecula apterygia Vahl, 1794 Caecilia branderiana Lacépède, 1800 Apterichtus branderiana (Lacépède, 1800)

References

1. Carpenter, K.E. (2015). "Apterichtus caecus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T194981A2371325. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T194981A2371325.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
2. Synonyms of Apterichtus caecus at www.fishbase.org.
3. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2014). "Apterichtus caecus" in FishBase. February 2014 version.