Ophisternon
| Ophisternon | |
|---|---|
| Bengal eel (O. bengalense) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Synbranchiformes |
| Family: | Synbranchidae |
| Subfamily: | Synbranchinae |
| Genus: | Ophisternon McClelland, 1844 |
| Type species | |
| Ophisternon bengalensis McClelland, 1844
| |
| Species | |
|
see text | |
| Synonyms | |
Ophisternon is a genus of swamp eels found in fresh and brackish waters in South and Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Australia, Middle America and West Africa. Two species are blind cave-dwellers.
Well-preserved fossil remains of an Ophisternon sp. are known from the early Pleistocene-aged Laguna Formation of the Philippines, representing the oldest known fossil record of this genus.