Echiophis punctifer

Echiophis punctifer, the stippled spoon-nose eel, spoon-nose eel or snapper eel,^[3] is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).^[4] It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1859. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba, northern South America, Senegal, and Angola. It dwells at a depth range of 40 to 100 metres (130 to 330 ft), and inhabits shallow bays and lagoons, in which it forms burrows in mud and sand. Males can reach a maximum total length of 180 centimetres (71 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 100 centimetres (39 in).^[4]

Echiophis punctifer
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Ophichthidae
Genus:	Echiophis
Species:	E. punctifer
Binomial name
Echiophis punctifer (Kaup, 1859)
Synonyms[2]
Crotalopsis punctifer Kaup, 1859 Mystriophis punctifer (Kaup, 1859) Conger mordax Poey, 1860 Echiophis mordax (Poey, 1860) Ophichthys schneideri Steindachner, 1879 Mystriophis creutzbergi Cadenat, 1956 Echiophis creutzbergi (Cadenat, 1956)

The species epithet "punctifer", treated as a name in apposition, means "dotted" in Latin, and refers to the eel's colouration.^[4]

The eel is pinkish in color and has small dots, similar to leopard print.