Bony fish · Anguilliformes · Ophichthidae

King Snake Eel

Ophichthus rex

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The largest of the snake eels, with individuals exceeding two metres, endemic to the Gulf of Mexico and the northern Caribbean. It lives buried in muddy and sandy bottoms, emerging at night to hunt crabs and fish.

Size

1 m – 2.1 m

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

OceanCarnivore Nocturnal Solitary Fish Ocean

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Fun facts

It is caught occasionally in the shrimp trawl fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico, and much of what is known about it comes from that bycatch.
Like the rest of the snake eels, it has a hard, pointed tail tip, which it uses to back into and bury itself in the sediment.
It is the world's largest snake eel: it exceeds two metres and can top 10 kg.
It digs backwards with its tail, which ends in a hard, finless point, and spends the day buried in the mud with only its head showing.
Its specific name, rex, refers precisely to its size: it is the king of its family.
It is caught mainly as bycatch in the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery, and its size and strength make it troublesome to handle on board.
Despite being a large, striking species, very little is known of its reproductive biology.