The saddled snake-eel (Leiuranus semicinctus, also known commonly as the halfbanded snake-eel, the banded snake eel, or the culverin[1]) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[2] It was described by George Tradescant Lay and Edward Turner Bennett in 1839, originally under the genus Ophisurus.[3] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific and southeastern Atlantic Ocean, including East and South Africa, the Hawaiian Islands, the Marquesan Islands, the Mangaréva islands, Japan, and Australia. It dwells at a depth range of 0mto70mm (00feetto230feetm), most often around 0mto10mm (00feetto30feetm), and inhabits lagoons and reefs, in which it forms burrows in beds of seagrass and sandy areas. Males can reach a maximum total length of 66cm (26inches).[2]
The saddled snake-eel's diet consists of fish, crabs, prawns,[2] and worms including Ptychodera.[4] Males and females rise to the surface of the water during spawning.[5]