Vulture sand eel

The Vulture sand eel (Ichthyapus vulturis, also known as the Vulture eel^[3]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).^[4] It was described by Max Carl Wilhelm Weber and Lieven Ferdinand de Beaufort in 1916, originally under the genus Sphagebranchus.^[5] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including Mascarenes, Pitcairn, Japan, Australia, Micronesia, and Easter Island. It dwells in inshore waters at a depth range of 2 to 18 metres (6.6 to 59.1 ft), and forms burrows in soft, sandy sediments.^[4]

Vulture sand eel
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Ophichthidae
Genus:	Ichthyapus
Species:	I. vulturis
Binomial name
Ichthyapus vulturis (Weber & de Beaufort, 1916)
Synonyms[2]
Sphagebranchus vulturis Weber & de Beaufort, 1916 Ichthyapus vulturus (Weber & de Beaufort, 1916)

The Vulture sand eel's diet consists of bony fish.^[6]