This deep-sea eel looks like an awkward duck, has more vertebrae than any other creature and has a very lazy way of catching prey
There’s a strange animal in the deep-sea that looks like a silver ribbon wand with a long beak, gaping awkwardly.
Although you might have never heard of them, these animals are record-breakers: they have more vertebrae than any other creature on the planet. They’re called snipe eels (or, sometimes, deep sea ducks) and they’re found in the deep, dark waters of the ocean’s twilight zone.
What are snipe eels?
Sometimes known as deep sea ducks, because of their bird-like beak which never closes, snipe eels are a strange fish found in the deep ocean. There are nine known species.
They are named after a bird called a snipe which has a similarly long bill but the similarity ends there. Snipe eels have more than 700 vertebrae – hundreds more than their avian counterpart and more than any other animal on Earth.
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How big are snipe eels?
They can grow more than a metre long but their slender bodies make them incredibly light; some individuals weigh just a few ounces. Unlike many other deep-sea species, they don’t bedazzle themselves with bioluminescence.
One species (the slender snipe eel, Nemichthyes scolopaceus) is notable for having its anus right up by its throat. That’s because the rest of its body is so thin, there was no room anywhere else.
Despite being discovered in 1848, their deep-sea habitat means we know very little about how they live their lives.
What do snipe eels look like?
It might sound cruel to say but these deep-sea fish look a little bit ridiculous. Their large eyes and curved jaw make them look like a cartoon duck while their body is so thin, it could be mistaken for a charging cable.
But these animals’ strange appearance has evolved to help them survive. Every odd-looking feature has an important purpose.
Their comically large eyes help them pick up on the little light there is in these waters so they can spot predators with enough time to avoid them. Their mouths remain hanging open to maximise their chances of catching prey. And their dark, thin bodies make it harder for them to be seen in the inky seas.
They also have considerably more (700 to be exact) vertebrae than any another animal
Where do snipe eels live?
These peculiar creatures are usually found between 300 and 600m in the ocean’s twilight zone, although they can venture deeper. Juveniles are typically found in shallower waters.
What do they eat?
Snipe eels eat tiny deep-sea crustaceans. When researchers examined the stomach contents of 35 slender snipe eels, they discovered they had been eating golden shrimp (Plesionika martia), pink glass shrimp (Pasiphaea multidentate), Woodward's pelagic shrimp (Funchalia woodwardia) and strong prawns (Robustosergia robusta).
How do they hunt?
Snipe eels’ ever-open mouth might look gormless but it’s all part of their hunting strategy.
Essentially, they swim along with their mouth constantly open – swinging their head from side to side – hoping that something tasty will end up inside.
If they do snare some prey, the crustacean’s antennae become caught on their small but sharp teeth, which point backwards to stop their victim swimming back out the way it came in.
How do they reproduce?
Researchers are still learning more about the lives of these strange deep-sea ribbons, but they know that reproduction involves males and females releasing eggs and sperm into the water simultaneously. This is known as broadcast spawning. It is thought that they only spawn once during their lifetime.
How long do they live for?
Their average lifespan is around 10 years
Are they dangerous to humans?
No. Apart from the fact that you’ll probably never see a snipe eel in your lifetime (except, perhaps, if you’re a deep-sea scientist), these slender eels aren’t harmful to humans. Their tweezer-like jaws couldn’t do much damage, even if they wanted to, and they are not venomous.
Are they under threat?
Snipe eels are listed as ‘of least concern’ by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species but experts don’t know whether population numbers are growing or shrinking.
Very little is known about their lives and no major threats are known but this doesn’t mean they don’t exist: much more research is needed to know how much these animals are impacted by other potential threats to the deep sea, such as climate change, pollution, and overfishing.
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Top image: Adisha Pramod / Alamy
