Teleostei (teleosts) >
Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) >
Heterenchelyidae (Mud eels)
Etymology: Pythonichthys: Greek, python = the huge serpent or monster slain near Delphi by Apollo in the Greek mithology (1590) Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Poey.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range ? - 37 m (Ref. 13608). Tropical
Western Central Atlantic: off Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Suriname.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 41.9 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 13608)
Body nearly cylindrical; anus situated forward of mid-body; eye extremely small, embedded, merely a tiny dot, equidistant between tip of snout and corner of mouth; anterior nostril near tip of snout, posterior nostril immediately in front of eye (Ref. 13608).
A benthic species found on reefs or rocky areas (Ref. 26340).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.), 1983. Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p. (Ref. 13608)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5664 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00102 (0.00046 - 0.00225), b=3.06 (2.88 - 3.24), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.7 ±0.6 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (32 of 100).