COMMON NAMES: Crocodile Snake-Eel; French Anguille-serpent Crocodile

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Societies; n. to s.Japan; s. to GBR - Cooks

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Buried in sand in reef-flat moats and lagoons, emerges slightly to catch small fishes and invertebrates. Burrows backward into sand, using its pointed tail. PLUS: ; Marine, near-shore, In sand in reef-flat moats and shallow lagoon

KEY FEATURES: An elongate eel to 120cm; pale grey with some darker blotches, cream beneath. Head tapering, with the eyes very near the tip of the snout. Long straight jaws, with finely finged lips, spaced larger teeth on inter part of lower jaw and in centre of roof of mouth. Dorsal and Ventral fins long and continuous, tail a tapering cone. Lateral line a conspicuous row of black spots with white centers about 1cm apart. Pectoral fin small, about 15mm long (10 in head length).

SIMILAR SPECIES: Brachysomophis sauopsis (Reptilian Snale-Eel) is up to 50cm with small pectoral and may be same as B. crocodilinus. Brachysomophis cirrhocheilus (Stargazer Snake-Eel) has large pectoral fins, 4-5 in head length and has not yet been recorded in Eastern Polynesia.