Black-pored snake-eel

Ophichthus melope is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).^[1] It was described by John E. McCosker and Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt in 1998.^[2] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Colombia and Costa Rica.^[3] It dwells at a depth range of 100 to 224 metres (328 to 735 ft). Males can reach a maximum total length of 27 centimetres (11 in).^[1]

Black-pored snake-eel
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Ophichthidae
Genus:	Ophichthus
Species:	O. melope
Binomial name
Ophichthus melope J. E. McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1998

The species epithet "melope" means "black cavity" in Greek, and is treated as a noun in apposition. It refers to the rings surrounding the pores.^[1] Due to a lack of known threats and observed population decline, the IUCN redlist currently lists O. melope as Least Concern.^[3]