The Pacific worm eel (Myrophis vafer, also known commonly as the worm eel in the United Kingdom[1]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[2] It was described by David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert in 1883.[3] It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including California, USA, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, and Peru.[4] It dwells at a depth range of 1mto12mm (03feetto39feetm), and inhabits sand and mud sediments. Unlike many species of eel, it does not form burrows. Males can reach a maximum total length of 46cm (18inches).[2]
Young Pacific worm eels are drawn to lights at the sea's surface.[2] Due to its wide distribution, lack of known major threats and lack of observed population decline, the IUCN redlist currently lists the species as Least Concern.[4]