Nettastomatidae, the duckbill eels or witch eels are a family of

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

s. The name is from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''netta'' meaning "duck" and ''stoma'' meaning "mouth". Duckbill eels are found along the

continental slope A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margin ...

s of tropical and temperate oceans worldwide. They are bottom-dwelling fish, feeding on invertebrates and smaller fish. They are slender eels, up to in length, with narrow heads and large, toothy, mouths. Most species lack

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

Species

About 40 species are placed in seven genera: * Genus '' Facciolella'' * Genus '' Hoplunnis'' * Genus '' "Leptocephalus"'' * Genus '' Nettastoma'' * Genus '' Nettenchelys'' * Genus '' Saurenchelys'' * Genus '' Venefica''

References

* Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish of the Pacific Ocean Fish of the Indian Ocean Ray-finned fish families {{Anguilliformes-stub