small yellow snake / moray eel

Hi guys

I don't have the Humann fish book here, could somebody check the ID ? I found this eel under a large stone burrowing in about 1 m on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica

looks like a small moray or a snake eel (Ophichthyid), maybe it's a juvenile ?

Art

Can't help with the ID, but we often comment that you never see small Green Morays in the Caribbean!

Alex

hmm .. so is it a snake eel then ?

here is another interesting and rarely seen fish from Costa Rica, an ophidiid, and mother of six !

was gravid when we collected it and then released all the babies

Art

Hi Art,

It is a snake ell, probably Ahlia egmontis. I'd have to take a look at it to make sure, but check here:

http://filaman.uni-kiel.de/summary/Species...ary.php?id=2633

Alex, small green morays are very criptic and live deep within the reef in shallow water. We collect them when using chemicals, but they never come out on their own.

Luiz

Too funny..... Art can spend 18 hours a day collecting but it's too much effort to walk over to Luiz's lab in the same building so he posts on Wetpixel instead and still get Luiz's id help!

He wanted to show off his nice pictures to the world!! Seriously, that's the best Ahlia picture I've seen.

hey Leslie, it's SUNDAY, and I am not sure whether Luis is in the lab today ..

Luis: thanks for ID ! the picture is actually NOT very nice .. the fish was drugged with clove oil

I usually ignore both fish and polychaetes unless they look really interesting .. ))

Art

by the way, Luiz, how comes that you have so few crustacean pictures in your nice gallery ?

A

I usually ignore both crustaceans and polychaetes unless they look really interesting ..

hey Leslie, it's SUNDAY, and I am not sure whether Luis is in the lab today ..

Art

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

More to the point, your slave Denis isn't around to walk them over for you!

And such unkind attitudes to polychaetes, fish, and crustaceans.... I could cry.....

OK, no making sensitive ladies cry here! We all have our secret loves you know..... :-0

Yes, Art, cool pic and thanks for showing it off. I have something to add, but it is not great pics like yours, I got these from my buddy. But they are interesting. It is a very, very interesting eel to observe while diving!

I also think your pic is the key worm eel (Ahlia egmotis). I'll just paste in my first request for ID and a reply I got from Paul who had photoed it also (the listing is not in his book though, so that wouldn't have helped you).

Thanks Art, I loved the pic!!!! Best, Carol

(Reply from Paul Humann:)

HI All,

Yes, I agree it is the Key Worm Eel! I photographed this guy in Venezuela of two occasions and my pictures are remarkably similar in color. The "Distinctive Features" are (1) the dorsal fin starting far back on the body, above or slightly behind the anus (i.e.. about half way) and (2) a line or narrow depression from the tip of the snout to between the eyes. Both of these features (although a bit soft) are discernible in the 2nd picture labeled 104. It is known from Bermuda to Venezuela, so it should be in Florida.

Best "fishes," Paul

(Original request for ID from me:)

Subject: key worm eel?

Hello there, Carol Grant here, now this is the fun part of our "Jobs/Hobby"! What it is all about I think.

Check out this cute little guy.

He was at 18 feet, under Blue Heron Bridge, Riveria Beach, Florida (also the striated frogfish spot!)

Thinner than a pencil, wriggly, probably 8" to 12" long, hard to tell cause he wriggled. Came out of one burrow in the sand, stayed out a few seconds, went into another close burrow, came out again and went back into his original burrow.

I've searched all around and key worm eel is what I settled on.

What do you all think? He moved so fast, we got a lot of out of focus shots, these are best, shows the tail too.

PS we also found the male striated frogfish again, no black female though. Also found male and female banded jawfish, male was brooding eggs, female was in third (larger) burrow when we found her, moved to her own burrow with pretty shells and rocks all around. The male's burrow was very unimaginative!! But very circular. Just some similar shaped flat rocks! He has yellow eggs in his mouth. I got some great pics. I'll post them on the web and send you the link.

But the two of the eel are attached, let me know what you all think.

hmmm .. Luiz, you should really come over and examine the specimen, I am still not convinced that it is Ahlia egmontis

the eye is much bigger in the key worm eel, at least judging from in situ photographs posted here, in my specimen it's tiny

also, it looks like the anal-caudal fin starts much more posteriorly in my specimen, not as in the picture on Luiz' link

finally, the lower jaw is more protruding compared to all pictures of A. egmontis

it still looks like a small yellow moray eel to me, but of course, what does a shrimpman know about fish ?

Art

I attached a head close-up

Art

oops, here it is

damned ! don't know what happened .. try again

well, I give up

no, last try !

A

Hey, Luiz, where are you? And what's the second fish Art posted? Inquiring segmented minds want to know!