Kingdom Animalia Class Actinopterygii Family Derichthyidae Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Order Anguilliformes Genus Nessorhamphus | |
The Dana duckbill eel (Nessorhamphus danae) is an eel in the family Derichthyidae (longneck eels). It was described by Johannes Schmidt in 1931. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from throughout the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean, including Australia, Brazil, Benin, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Cambodia, China, Ghana, Pakistan, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, India, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Liberia, Malaysia, Kenya, Mauritania, Myanmar, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, Sierra Leone, the Philippines, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Togo, the Hawaiian Islands, USA; Yemen, and Vietnam. Males can reach a maximum total length of 30 centimetres.
Due to the widespread distribution of the Dana duckbill eel, as well as its deep-water nature and the subsequent perceived lack of threats, the IUCN redlist currently lists the species as Least Concern.