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Teleostei (teleosts) > Synbranchiformes (Spiny eels) > Synbranchidae (Swamp-eels)
Etymology: Ophisternon: Greek, ophis = serpent + Greek, sternon = chest (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Richardson.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; brackish; demersal. Tropical; 8°S - 19°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Oceania: Papua New Guinea and northern Australia.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2847); common length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2847)

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Occur in backwaters of rivers, swamps, and stagnant ponds. Inhabit soft bottom sediments in quiet, well-vegetated backwaters of brackish estuaries and nearby swamps. Found in lower freshwater reaches of rivers. Cryptic, nocturnally active species, which burrow in bottom sediments. The male guards and builds nest or burrow (Ref. 205). The best chance of sighting this elusive fish is by spotlighting along thickly vegetated margins of suitable habitats at night. They are capable of surviving short periods out of water. A current taxonomic study of this family indicates this species probably should be placed in a new genus (Ref. 44894).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

The male guards and builds nest or burrow (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Fávorito, Sandra | Collaborators

Allen, G.R., 1991. Field guide to the freshwater fishes of New Guinea. Publication, no. 9. 268 p. Christensen Research Institute, Madang, Papua New Guinea. (Ref. 2847)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 13 February 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
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Ecology
Ecology

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Length-weight rel.
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Life cycle
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Anatomy
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Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5156 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00085 (0.00039 - 0.00184), b=3.09 (2.90 - 3.28), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.2 ±0.3 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100).

Ophisternon gutturale (Richardson, 1845)