Pythonichthys

Pythonichthys is a genus of eels of the family Heterenchelyidae that occur in tropical waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean off of Panama and in the Atlantic Ocean near the Caribbean Sea and the west coast of Africa. It contains the following described species:^[2]

• Pythonichthys asodes Rosenblatt & Rubinoff, 1972 (Pacific mud eel)
• Pythonichthys macrurus (Regan, 1912) (Long-tailed short-faced eel)
• Pythonichthys microphthalmus (Regan, 1912) (Short-tailed short-faced eel)
• Pythonichthys sanguineus Poey, 1868 (no common name)

Pythonichthys Temporal range: Maastrichtian–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
P. microphthalmus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Heterenchelyidae
Genus:	Pythonichthys Poey, 1868
Type species
Pythonichthys sanguineus Poey, 1868[1]
Synonyms[1]
Heterenchelys Regan, 1912

In addition, the fossil species Pythonichthys arkansasensis Schwarzhans & Stringer, 2020 is known by otoliths from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) and Early Paleocene of Texas and Arkansas, USA. Its fossils are very common in formations shortly after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, suggesting that it was a disaster taxon that thrived in the wake of the extinction.^[3][4]