Maimed snake eel

The Maimed snake eel (Muraenichthys schultzei, also known as the Aimed snake eel, the Bleeker's worm-eel, or the Schultz's worm eel^[1]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).^[2] It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1857.^[3] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including the Red Sea, East Africa, Samoa, the Ryukyu Islands, Australia, and Micronesia. It dwells at a depth range of 1 to 13 metres (3.3 to 42.7 ft), and inhabits coral reefs and lagoons, where it forms burrows in soft benthic sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 24 centimetres (9.4 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 8 centimetres (3.1 in).^[2]

Maimed snake eel
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Ophichthidae
Genus:	Muraenichthys
Species:	M. schultzei
Binomial name
Muraenichthys schultzei Bleeker, 1857
Synonyms
Muraenichthys schultzi Bleeker, 1857 Muraenichthys schulzei Bleeker, 1857

The Maimed snake eel is of minor commercial interest to fisheries. It is usually bagged, netted or dug out, and sold for shark bait.^[2]