Snake blenny (''Ophidion barbatum'') is a fish

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Ophidiidae. It is widespread in the eastern

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

from southern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

in West Africa, and the northern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

. It is a marine subtropical

demersal fish Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes (the demersal zone).Walrond Carl . "Coastal fish - Fish of the open sea floor"Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 2 March 2009 They occ ...

, up to long.

Parasites

As most fish, the Snake blenny harbours a variety of parasites. One of them is the diclidophorid

monogenea Monogeneans are a group of ectoparasitic flatworms commonly found on the skin, gills, or fins of fish. They have a direct lifecycle and do not require an intermediate host. Adults are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female reprod ...

n ''Flexophora ophidii''. The species was described in 1962 by Maria Prost and

Louis Euzet Louis Euzet (27 July 1923 in Lézignan-Corbières, France – 24 September 2013 in Sète, France) was a French parasitologist. Education Louis Euzet was a high-school student in Narbonne, France, and a student of the University of Montpelli ...

from the coasts of France in the Mediterranean Sea and found 58 years later off Algeria.

References

External links

* Ophidion (fish) Fish described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish of the Adriatic Sea Fish of the Mediterranean Sea Fish of Western Asia Fish of Africa Fish of Europe {{Ophidiidae-stub