NOOA Ocean Explorer / National Exploration and Research
Info
Eurypharynx pelecanoides is a bizarre deep-sea eel with a huge mouth, extremely long jaws, pore-like gill openings and a very stretchy throat and stomach.
Pelican eels have no scales and are covered with a black, velvety skin.
Eurypharynx pelecanoides have a very long, pointed, compressed tail with a small pink light organ at the tip.
The skull is tiny compared to the huge mouth and jaws.
The pelican eel has a light organ at the tip of its tail that can entice other predators to attack the least vulnerable part of the pelican eel's body.
Pelican eels live in the deep Mediterranean Sea and feed mainly on deep-sea crustaceans, which they catch with their huge mouths.
The species name “pelecanoides” was chosen for the huge mouth, which expands like that of a pelican.
SynonymS:
Euripharynx pelecanoides Vaillant, 1882 · unaccepted (misspelling)
Eurypharynx richardi Roule, 1914 · unaccepted
Gastrostomus bairdii Gill & Ryder, 1883 · unaccepted
Gastrostomus pacificus Bean, 1904 · unaccepted
Leptocephalus pseudolatissimus Bertin, 1936 · unaccepted
Macropharynx longicaudatus Brauer, 1902 · unaccepted
Pelican eels have no scales and are covered with a black, velvety skin.
Eurypharynx pelecanoides have a very long, pointed, compressed tail with a small pink light organ at the tip.
The skull is tiny compared to the huge mouth and jaws.
The pelican eel has a light organ at the tip of its tail that can entice other predators to attack the least vulnerable part of the pelican eel's body.
Pelican eels live in the deep Mediterranean Sea and feed mainly on deep-sea crustaceans, which they catch with their huge mouths.
The species name “pelecanoides” was chosen for the huge mouth, which expands like that of a pelican.
SynonymS:
Euripharynx pelecanoides Vaillant, 1882 · unaccepted (misspelling)
Eurypharynx richardi Roule, 1914 · unaccepted
Gastrostomus bairdii Gill & Ryder, 1883 · unaccepted
Gastrostomus pacificus Bean, 1904 · unaccepted
Leptocephalus pseudolatissimus Bertin, 1936 · unaccepted
Macropharynx longicaudatus Brauer, 1902 · unaccepted
