Grey cutthroat eel

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iGrey cutthroat eel
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Synaphobranchidae
Genus: Synaphobranchus
Species: S. affinis
Binomial name
Synaphobranchus affinis
Günther, 1877

The grey cutthroat eel, Synaphobranchus affinis, is a cutthroat eel, the only species in the genus Synaphobranchus. It is found around the world at depths below 1,000 m. Its length is up to 160 cm.

The grey cutthroat eel is a moderately deep-bodied eel with a pointed snout, with both the dorsal and anal fins beginning about a third of the way from the front of the body. The gill appertures are short horizontal slits low on the body that join together beneath the throat. The mouth has many rows of small teeth, with larger teeth on the vomer on the roof of the mouth. Scale arrangement is similar to that of the basketwork eel.

The colour is a uniform grey to grey-brown with black edges to the fins.

Very little else is known.

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