Oriental worm-eel

Lamnostoma orientale

Eel in Indonesian Waters

Tropical
Regional distribution
Indian Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Africa
South Asia
Anguilliform
Medium
Tropical fish

The Oriental worm-eel (Lamnostoma orientalis), also known as the Oriental snake eel, the Oriental sand-eel or the finny sand-eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by John McClelland in 1844, originally under the genus Dalophis. It is a tropical, marine and freshwater-dwelling eel which is known from the Indo-Western Pacific, including Somalia, South Africa, India, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Oman, Palau, New Caledonia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, and Vanuatu.

Class: Teleosts
Order: True Eels
Family: Ophichthidae
Genus: Lamnostoma
Maximum length: 36 cm
Body shape: anguilliform
Distribution: Indo-West Pacific: Somalia (Ref. 30573 ) and southern Africa to India and probably most other parts of the Indian Ocean. Found in New Guinea (Ref. 7050 ) and Tahiti (Ref. 12792 ). Record from the Mascarenes by Castle (1984, in distribution map, Ref. 7245 ) could not be verified; probably erroneous (Ref. 33390 ).

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