Basketwork eel
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 Drawing by Dr Tony Ayling
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| Diastobranchus capensis Barnard, 1923 |
The basketwork eel, Diastobranchus capensis, is a cutthroat eel, the only species in the genus Diastobranchus. It is found off southern Australia, South Africa, and around New Zealand, in depths over 1,000 m. Its length is between 80 and 120 cm.
The basketwork eel is a typical eel shape but with a distinctive rounded head and snout. Unusually, the anal fin begins well forward, in front of the dorsal fin which starts halfway along the body. The mouth is large with prominent sharp teeth especially the vomerine teeth on the roof of the mouth. The minute scales are arranged in an unusual pattern, with each group of 3 or 4 scales lying at right angles to adjacent groups giving a basketwork effect.
Colouring is a uniform dark chocolate brown with a tinge of purple. It lives on the bottom at great depths.
[edit] References
- Diastobranchus capensis (TSN 635629). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 19 March 2006.
- "Diastobranchus capensis". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8
