iSwallowers and gulpers
Pelican eel, Eurypharynx pelecanoides. From plate 49 of Oceanic Ichthyology by G. Brown Goode and Tarleton H. Bean, published 1896.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Saccopharyngiformes
Families
Cyematidae Eurypharyngidae Monognathidae Saccopharyngidae Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1203x695, 552 KB) Pelican eel, Eurypharynx pelecanoides. ... Binomial name Eurypharynx pelecanoides The gulper eel, or Eurypharynx pelecanoides, is a deep-sea specimen rarely seen by humans, though the creatures are occasionally snagged in fishermens nets. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera Subregnum Eumetazoa Placozoa Orthonectida Rhombozoa Radiata (unranked) Ctenophora Cnidaria Bilateria (unranked) Acoelomorpha Myxozoa Superphylum Deuterostomia Chordata Hemichordata Echinodermata Chaetognatha Superphylum Ecdysozoa Kinorhyncha Loricifera Priapulida Nematoda Nematomorpha Onychophora Tardigrada Arthropoda Superphylum Platyzoa Platyhelminthes Gastrotricha Rotifera Acanthocephala Gnathostomulida Micrognathozoa Cycliophora Superphylum Lophotrochozoa Sipuncula Nemertea Phoronida Bryozoa Entoprocta Brachiopoda... {{{subdivision_ranks}}} See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Binomial name Cyema atrum Günther, 1878 Neocyema erythrosoma Castle, 1978 The bobtail snipe eels are two species of deep-sea fishes in the family Cyematidae. ... It has been suggested that Umbrella Mouth Gulper Eel be merged into this article or section. ... Species See text. ... Saccopharyngidae is a family of deep sea spiny eels (gulper eels) with large mouths, distensible stomachs and long scaleless bodies. ...

Saccopharyngiformes is an order of unusual ray-finned fish superficially similar to eels, but with many internal differences. Most of the fish in this order are deep-sea types known from only a handful of specimens such as the Umbrella Mouth Gulper Eel. Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... For other uses, see Eel (disambiguation). ... The umbrella mouth gulper eel is a species of brownish to blackish eel that lives 5000 to 9000 feet below the ocean. ...

Saccopharyngiforms lack several bones, such as the symplectic bone, the bones of the opercle, and ribs. They also have no scales, pelvic fins, or swim bladder. The jaws are quite large, and several types are notable for being able to consume fish larger than themselves. Their myomeres (muscle segments) are V-shaped instead of W-shaped like in all other fish, and their lateral line has no pores, instead it is modified to groups of elevated tubules. The operculum in fish is the hard bony flap covering and protecting the gills of Bony fish. ... In most biological nomenclature, a scale (Greek lepid, Latin squama) is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animals skin to provide protection. ... Fish anatomy is primarily governed by the physical characteristics of water, which is much denser than air, holds a relatively small amount of dissolved oxygen, and absorbs light more than does air. ... The gas bladder (also fish maw, less accurately swim bladder or air bladder) is an internal organ that contributes to the ability of a fish to control its buoyancy, and thus to stay at the current water depth, ascend, or descend without having to waste energy in swimming. ...

Classification

There are four families in the order:

• Cyematidae (bobtail snipe eels)
• Eurypharyngidae (pelican eel)
• Monognathidae
• Saccopharyngidae (swallowers, gulpers or gulper eels)

Binomial name Cyema atrum Günther, 1878 Neocyema erythrosoma Castle, 1978 The bobtail snipe eels are two species of deep-sea fishes in the family Cyematidae. ... It has been suggested that Umbrella Mouth Gulper Eel be merged into this article or section. ... Species See text. ... Saccopharyngidae is a family of deep sea spiny eels (gulper eels) with large mouths, distensible stomachs and long scaleless bodies. ...

Diet

The gulper eel eats fish, copepods, shrimp, and plankton. It uses its mouth like a net by opening its large mouth and swimming at its prey. Orders Calanoida Cyclopoida Gelyelloida Harpacticoida Misophrioida Monstrilloida Mormonilloida Platycopioida Poecilostomatoida Siphonostomatoida Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in the sea and nearly every freshwater habitat. ... Superfamilies Alpheoidea Atyoidea Bresilioidea Campylonotoidea Crangonoidea Galatheacaridoidea Nematocarcinoidea Oplophoroidea Palaemonoidea Pandaloidea Pasiphaeoidea Procaridoidea Processoidea Psalidopodoidea Stylodactyloidea True shrimp are small, swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

External links

• "Saccopharyngiformes". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
• Enchanted Learning Gulper Eel Copyright 1999 - 2006
• The Sea - Gulper Eel J.D. Knight, Copyright 1998