Nettastomatidae

Duckbill eels

Venefica tentaculata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Nettastomatidae
Genera
Facciolella Hoplunnis "Leptocephalus" Nettastoma Nettenchelys Saurenchelys Venefica

The duckbill eels or witch eels are a family, Nettastomatidae, of eels. The name is from Greek netta meaning "duck" and stoma meaning "mouth".

Duckbill eels are found along the continental slopes of tropical and temperate oceans worldwide. They are bottom-dwelling fish, feeding on invertebrates and smaller fish.^[1] They are slender eels, up to 125 centimetres (4.10 ft) in length, with narrow heads and large, toothy, mouths. Most species lack pectoral fins.

Species

There are about forty species in seven genera:

Genus Facciolella
Genus Hoplunnis
Genus "Leptocephalus"
Genus Nettastoma
Genus Nettenchelys
Genus Saurenchelys
Genus Venefica

References

↑ McCosker, John F. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N., ed. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 90. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.

Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2011). "Nettastomatidae" in FishBase. June 2011 version.