Myrichthys colubrinus

Myrichthys colubrinus, the banded snake eel, ringed snake eel or harlequin snake eel, is a snake eel from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 97 cm (38 in) in length.[1]

Myrichthys colubrinus
Scientific classification
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M. colubrinus
Binomial name
Myrichthys colubrinus
(Boddaert, 1781)

The ringed snake eel resembles the venomous sea snake, Laticauda colubrina which is a form of Batesian mimicry.[2] It also adjusts its behaviour to swim freely during the day, whereas other snake eels tend to stay hidden and roam at night.

References

  1. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2008). "Myrichthys colubrinus" in FishBase. December 2008 version.
  2. Randall, J. E. (2005). A review of mimicry in marine fishes. Zoological Studies, 44(3), 299–328.


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