| Family | Scientific Name | Author | Year | Common Name |
| Ophichthidae | Ophichthus menezesi | McCosker & Böhlke | 1984 | Blotchside Snake Eel |
All Ophichthus Species: Tail tip a hard or fleshy finless point . Gill opening midlateral to entirely ventral, unconstricted. Dorsal-fin origin on or behind head; pectoral fins present, larger than eye, pectoral-fin base restricted, opposite upper half of gill openings. Head and trunk as long as or shorter than tail. Gill openings inferior or lateral. Eye over middle of upper jaw. Teeth not minute, pointed, not long and fang-like, in 3 rows or less on maxilla. Lateral line not abruptly arched in head region. Coloration various, either plain, spotted, banded or saddled (FAO 2002).
Ophichthus menezesi
Unique Characters: Tail 65% or less of total length; body moderately elongate to stout. Dorsal-fin origin well behind tips of pectoral fins. 20-25 brown blotches along its flank, overlying a lighter colored body. Teeth stout; maxillary teeth biserial; vomerine teeth uniserial (FAO 2002; McCosker and Böhlke 1984).
Similar Species:
Ophichthus brevirostris, Snubnose Snake Eel
Snubnose Snake Eel, Ophichthus brevirostris. Tail 58% and head 9.6% of total length. Dorsal-fin origin above pectoral fins; pectoral fins elongate, filamentous dorsally. Eye large, its center behind middle of upper jaw. Posterior nostril covered by a flap. Teeth small, conical, and slightly recurved, numerous and close-set; uniserial on vomer and mandible, biserial on maxillary, the inner row larger. Color pale, overlain on mid-flank by a dark band (McCosker and Ross 2007).
Ophichthus cruentifer, Margined Snake Eel
Margined Snake Eel, Ophichthus cruentifer. Tail 65% or less of total length; body moderately elongate to stout. Dorsal-fin origin well behind tips of pectoral fins. Body dark (although median fins may be lighter), lacking bands or spots. Teeth small, biserial to multiserial in jaws; vomerine teeth uniserial posteriorly (FAO 2002).
Ophichthus gomesii, Shrimp Eel
Shrimp Eel, Ophichthus gomesii. Tail longer than 60% of total length; body moderately elongate to stout. Dorsal-fin origin above, slightly behind, or in advance of pectoral-fin tips. Vomerine teeth biserial to triserial, Tail longer than 60% of total length. Body without dark bars, saddles, or light or dark spots (FAO 2002).
Ophichthus melanoporus, Blackpored Eel
Blackpored Eel, Ophichthus melanoporus. Tail 69% or more of total length; body elongate, not robust. Pores of head and lateral line dark and conspicuous, in striking contrast to head and body (FAO 2002).
Ophichthus menezesi, Blotchside Snake Eel
Blotchside Snake Eel, Ophichthus menezesi. Tail 65% or less of total length; body moderately elongate to stout. Dorsal-fin origin well behind tips of pectoral fins. 20-25 brown blotches along its flank, overlying a lighter colored body. Teeth stout; maxillary teeth biserial; vomerine teeth uniserial (FAO 2002; McCosker and Böhlke 1984).
Ophichthus ophis, Spotted Snake Eel
Spotted Snake Eel, Ophichthus ophis. Tail shorter than 60% of total length; body moderately elongate to stout. Dorsal-fin origin above, slightly behind, or in advance of pectoral-fin tips (FAO 2002). Vomerine teeth uniserial (although sometimes a pair anteriorly). Body with dark bands or light or dark spots; body pale, with irregular large dark blotches or with small dark spots outlining lateral-line and head pores (FAO 2002).
Ophichthus puncticeps, Palespotted Eel
Palespotted Eel, Ophichthus puncticeps. Tail shorter than 60% of total length; body moderately elongate to stout. Dorsal-fin origin above, slightly behind, or in advance of pectoral-fin tips (FAO 2002). Vomerine teeth uniserial (although sometimes a pair anteriorly). Body with dark bands or light or dark spots; body grey or bicolored, dark dorsally, with pale eye-sized spots along midline; head pores within dark spots (FAO 2002).
References:
(FAO 2016). Carpenter, K.E. and N. De Angelis. eds. 2016. The living marine resources of the eastern central Atlantic. Volume 3: Bony fishes part 1 (Elopiformes to Scorpaeniformes). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes, Rome, FAO. pp. 1511–2342.
Kanazawa, R.H. 1963. Two new species of ophichthid eels from the western Atlantic. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 76: 281-287.
McCosker, J.E. and E.B. Böhlke. 1984. Three new species of western Atlantic snake eels (Pisces: Ophichthidae) of the genus Ophichthus. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 136: 24-31.
McCosker, J.E. and S.W. Ross. 2007. A new deepwater species of snake eel genus Ophichthus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) from North Carolina. Copeia, 2007 (4): 783-787.