title: Surf eel
text: # Surf eel
  
  The Surf eel (Ichthyapus ophioneus, also known as the Finless snake eel in the United States) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by Barton Warren Evermann and Millard Caleb Marsh in 1900, originally under the genus Sphagebranchus. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Bermuda, the Bahamas, Florida, USA; Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, northern South America, and St. Helena Island. It dwells at a maximum depth of 35 metres (115 ft), most often between 5 and 15 metres (16 and 49 ft), and forms burrows in sand bottoms in surf areas, from which its common name is derived. Males can reach a maximum total length of 45 centimetres (18 in).
  
  