| Longneck eels | |
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| Narrownecked oceanic eel,Derichthys serpentinus, from plate 49 ofOceanic Ichthyology by G. Brown Goode and Tarleton H. Bean, published 1896 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Suborder: | Congroidei |
| Family: | Derichthyidae Gill, 1884[1] |
| Genera | |
see text | |
Longneck eels orneck eels are a family,Derichthyidae, ofeels. They arepelagic fishes, found in the middle and depths of most oceans. The name comes fromGreekderes meaning "neck" andichthys meaning "fish".
They are distinguished by the presence of a series stripes on the head that form part of the sensory system, but otherwise the two genera of the family are quite different in appearance.Derichthys has a narrow neck and large eyes, whileNessorhamphus' has a long, flattened, snout.[2] They grow to about 60 cm (24 in) in length.
The three species in two genera are:[3]
In some classifications (for example,Systema Naturae 2000), this family is split in two, with Derichthyidae containing only the genusDerichthys, andNessorhamphus being assigned its own family, Nessorhamphidae.[citation needed]
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