Turret Snake Eel

Stout with tail 50-51% and head 15.5% of TL; dorsal-fin origin well behind pectoral tips; pectoral fins minute, slightly broader than long; snout short, about 3.2-4.0 in jaw; center of eye in anterior third of upper jaw; cirri of maxillary labia minute, those of lower jaw few, short and stout; interorbital space and top of head flat, dorsal head profile incised and medially constricted behind eyes; a lateral-projecting rounded protuberance about equal to orbit situated behind and beneath orbit; head pores distinct; teeth conical; preserved specimens yellowish, pale ventrally in head and trunk region, overlain behind nape with dense, fine brown speckling and an orange U-shaped band from gill opening to midhead and meeting across dorsal surface; (Ref. 42180).

Vertebrae: 103 - 104

Captured over sandy substrate and reef (Ref. 42180). Inhabits sand flats with patch reefs (Ref 90102).

The turret snake eel (Brachysomophis umbonis) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by John E. McCosker and John Ernest Randall in 2001. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Western Pacific, including Indonesia and the Philippines. It dwells at a depth range of 14 to 18 metres (46 to 59 ft), and inhabits sand and reefs. Males can reach a maximum total length of 13.9 centimetres (5.5 in).

The species epithet, "umbonis", meaning "rounded protuberance" in Latin, refers to the prominent lateral projections of the eel's cheeks.