Rice-paddy eel

Not to be confused with the Asian swamp eel (Monopterus albus), which is also referred to as the rice paddy eel.

The rice-paddy eel (Pisodonophis boro; also known commonly as the Bengal's snake-eel, the estuary snake eel, or the snake eel^[3]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm-snake eels).^[4] It was described by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton in 1822, originally in the genus Ophisurus.^[5] It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the Indo-West Pacific, including Somalia, Tanzania, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Polynesia, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Kenya, Madagascar, the Philippines, Malaysia, Mozambique, Seychelles, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and southern Yemen.^[4][1] It is an anadromous species and spawns in freshwater, often in rice paddies during the rainy season, earning it its common name. It also spends time in lagoons, estuaries and coastal rivers, in which it lives in burrows in the river bottom and bank. Males can reach a maximum total length (TL) of 100 centimetres, but more commonly reach a TL of 70 cm.^[4]

Rice-paddy eel
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Ophichthidae
Genus:	Pisodonophis
Species:	P. boro
Binomial name
Pisodonophis boro (Hamilton, 1822)
Synonyms[2]
Ophisurus boro Hamilton, 1822, Kuchiya in Assamese Ophichthys boro (Hamilton, 1822) Pisodontophis bora (Hamilton, 1822) Pisoodonophis boro (Hamilton, 1822) Ophisurus harancha Hamilton, 1822 Ophisurus caudatus McClelland, 1844 Ophisurus sinensis Richardson, 1848 Ophiurus baccidens Cantor, 1849 Ophisurus baccidens Cantor, 1849 Conger microstoma Eydoux & Souleyet, 1850 Ophisurus brachysoma Bleeker, 1853 Ophisurus schaapii Bleeker, 1853 Ophisurus schaapi Bleeker, 1853 Ophisurus potamophilus Bleeker, 1854 Pisodonophis assamensis Sen, 1986

The rice-paddy eel is of minor commercial interest to fisheries; it is caught in bag nets and marketed fresh.^[4] Its diet consists of bony fish and crabs such as Uca annulipes;^[6] as a nocturnal creature it forages actively during the night.^[4] Due to its widespread, albeit thinly populated distribution, and lack of major threats, the IUCN redlist currently lists the rice-paddy eel as Least Concern. It notes, however, that the species is subject to agricultural pollution.^[1]

References

1. Chaudhry, S. (2010). "Pisodonophis boro". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T166552A6234729. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T166552A6234729.en. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
2. Synonyms of Pisodonophis boro at www.fishbase.org.
3. Common names for Pisodonophis boro at www.fishbase.org.
4. Pisodonophis boro at www.fishbase.org.
5. Hamilton, F., 1822 [ref. 2031] An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges and its branches. Edinburgh & London. i-vii + 1-405, Pls. 1-39.
6. Food items reported for Pisodonophis boro at www.fishbase.org.