The Pacific spoon-nose eel (Echiophis brunneus, also known commonly as the Fangjaw eel in Mexico[1]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[2] It was described by José Luis Castro-Aguirre and Sergio Suárez de los Cobos in 1983, originally under the genus Notophtophis.[3] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including the Gulf of California, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Panama.[4] It dwells at a maximum depth of 10m (30feet), and inhabits sand and mud sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 140cm (60inches), but more commonly reach a TL of 60cm (20inches).[2]
Due to its wide distribution, lack of known major threats, and lack of observed population decline, the IUCN redlist currently lists the Pacific spoon-nose eel as Least Concern.[4] It is sometimes caught as by-catch by trawlers, but is usually discarded.[4]