Neenchelys

Neenchelys
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Ophichthidae
Subfamily:	Myrophinae
Genus:	Neenchelys Bamber, 1915
Type species
Neenchelys microtretus Bamber, 1915

Neenchelys is a genus of snake eels native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean.All species of Neenchelys have two rather than three preopercular pores (except for N. parvipectoralis which usually has one), a significant character among many species of ophichthids (McCosker 1977)

Species

There are currently 12 recognized species in this genus:

• Neenchelys andamanensis Hibino, Satapoomin & Kimura, 2015 (Andaman worm eel) ^[1]
• Neenchelys buitendijki M. C. W. Weber & de Beaufort, 1916 (Fin-tail worm eel)
• Neenchelys cheni (J. S. T. F. Chen & H. T. C. Weng, 1967) (Chen's worm eel) ^[2]
• Neenchelys daedalus J. E. McCosker, 1982 (New Guinea worm eel)
• Neenchelys diaphora H. C. Ho, J. E. McCosker & D. G. Smith, 2015 (Long-fin worm eel) ^[3]
• Neenchelys gracilis H. C. Ho & K. H. Loh, 2015 (Fringe-nose worm eel) ^[4]
• Neenchelys mccoskeri Hibino, H. C. Ho & Kimura, 2012 (McCosker's worm eel) ^[5]
• Neenchelys microtretus Bamber, 1915 (Small-fin worm eel)
• Neenchelys nudiceps Tashiro, Hibino & Imamura, 2015 (Indonesian deep-sea worm eel) ^[6]
• Neenchelys parvipectoralis Y. T. Chu, H. L. Wu & X. B. Jin, 1981 (Mini-fin worm eel) ^[2]
• Neenchelys pelagica H. C. Ho, J. E. McCosker & D. G. Smith, 2015 (Pelagic worm eel) ^[3]
• Neenchelys similis H. C. Ho, J. E. McCosker & D. G. Smith, 2015 (Slender worm eel) ^[3]

References

1. Hibino, Y., Satapoomin, U. & Kimura, S. (2015). "A new species of Neenchelys (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae: Myrophinae) from the eastern Indian Ocean" (PDF). Zootaxa,. 4060 (1): 56–61.
2. Ho, H.-C., McCosker, J.E. & Smith, D.G. (2015): Revision of the worm eel genus Neenchelys (Ophichthidae: Myrophinae), with descriptions of three new species from the western Pacific Ocean. Zoological Studies, 52 (58): 1-20.
3. Ho, H.-C., McCosker, J.E. & Smith, D.G. (2015). "Renaming of three recently described eels of the genus Neenchelys (Teleostei: Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) from the western Pacific" (PDF). Zootaxa,. 4060 (1): 49–51.
4. Ho, H.-C. & Loh, K.-H. (2015). "A new species of the worm-eel genus Neenchelys (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) from southern Taiwan" (PDF). Zootaxa,. 4060 (1): 52–55.
5. Hibino, Y., Ho, H.-C. & Kimura, S. (2012): A new worm eel Neenchelys mccoskeri (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) from Taiwan and Japan. Ichthyological Research, 59 (4): 342-346.
6. Tashiro, F., Hibino, Y. & Imamura, H. (2015): Description of a new species of the genus Neenchelys (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae, Myrophinae) from the eastern Indian Ocean, with comments on the availability of three congeners. Ichthyological Research, 63 (1): 53-58.