Southeast Atlantic: known only from Walvis Bay, Namibia to Durban, South Africa[3]
Description
Maximum recorded length 80.0 cm. Depth of body 15 times total length. Six gill openings. Colour slaty grey. Egg cases ovoid about 30mm long by 12mm wide with anchor filaments at each end.[4] Eel shaped, with six barbels on the head around the mouth. Epatches form white spots under the skin. Two rows of slime pores under the body.[5] No paired fins, mouth has no jaws but has two protrusible rows of horny teeth.[6]
Habitat and behaviour
Non-migratory marine demersal. Depth range 10 – 400 m, usually found between 10 and 45 m. Commonly burrows in muddy bottoms. Feeds mostly by scavenging on dead or disabled fish. Secretes large quantities of slime when provoked.[6]
Importance to humans
No commercial value, considered a pest by fishermen.
^Smith, Margaret M, and Heemstra, P. (eds.) 2003. Smith's sea fishes. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Grahamstown. Struik publishers, Cape Town, 2003. ISBN1 86872 890 0
^Barnard, K. H. A Monograph of the Marine Fishes of South Africa, Part 1. Annals of the South African Museum. Vol. 21. Cape Town: South African Museum. p. 16. ISBN0-949940-10-0.
^Jones, Georgina. A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula. SURG, Cape Town, 2008. ISBN978-0-620-41639-9
^ abBranch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and Beckley, L.E. (2010). Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa Struik Nature, Cape Town. ISBN978 1 77007 772 0
