Pythonichthys

Pythonichthys is a genus of eels of the family Heterenchelyidae that occur in tropical waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean off of Panama and in the Atlantic Ocean near the Caribbean Sea and the west coast of Africa. It contains the following described species:^[1]

• Pythonichthys asodes Rosenblatt & Rubinoff, 1972 (Pacific mud eel)
• Pythonichthys macrurus (Regan, 1912) (Long-tailed short-faced eel)
• Pythonichthys microphthalmus (Regan, 1912) (Short-tailed short-faced eel)
• Pythonichthys sanguineus Poey, 1868 (no common name)

Pythonichthys Temporal range: Maastrichtian–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
P. microphthalmus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Heterenchelyidae
Genus:	Pythonichthys Poey, 1868

In addition, the fossil species Pythonichthys arkansasensis Schwarzhans & Stringer, 2020 is known by otoliths from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) and Early Paleocene of Texas and Arkansas, USA. Its fossils are very common in formations shortly after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, suggesting that it was a disaster taxon that thrived in the wake of the extinction.^[2][3]

References

1. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Pythonichthys Poey, 1868". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
2. Schwarzhans, Werner; Stringer, Gary L. (2020-05-06). "Fish Otoliths from the Late Maastrichtian Kemp Clay (Texas, Usa) and the Early Danian Clayton Formation (Arkansas, Usa) and an Assessment of Extinction and Survival of Teleost Lineages Across the K-Pg Boundary Based on Otoliths". Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia. 126 (2). doi:10.13130/2039-4942/13425. ISSN 2039-4942.
3. Schwarzhans, Werner W.; Jagt, John W. M. (2021-11-01). "Silicified otoliths from the Maastrichtian type area (Netherlands, Belgium) document early gadiform and perciform fishes during the Late Cretaceous, prior to the K/Pg boundary extinction event". Cretaceous Research. 127: 104921. Bibcode:2021CrRes.12704921S. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104921. ISSN 0195-6671.

• Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Pythonichthys". FishBase. June 2011 version.