Brachysomophis atlanticus Blache & Saldanha 1972

A slender species with tail 48-50% and head 13-15% of TL; dorsal fin arising above gill openings; pectoral fins slender, not elongate, about 6.2-6.5 times in HL; snout short, about 3.6 in jaw; jaws elongate, about 2.6 in head; nostrils in short tubes in upper lip and closely associated; labial fringe present but poorly developed on both jaws; center of eye behind anterior 1/3 of jaw; interorbital space and top of head flat; head pores apparent; free sensory neuromasts not visible on nape; teeth conical, largest in ethmoidal region of intermaxilla, followed by 6 linear vomerine teeth; maxillary teeth biserial, teeth of inner row larger but the row shorter in length; mandibular teeth uniserial and small, largest anteriorly (Ref. 42180).

Vertebrae: 114 - 117

Burrows in sand and mud on the continental shelf (Ref. 4455).

Brachysomophis atlanticus is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by Jacques Blache and Luiz Vieria Caldas Saldanha in 1972. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern Atlantic Ocean (from which its species epithet is derived), including Senegal and the Gulf of Guinea. It inhabits the continental shelf, and makes burrows in sand and mud. Males can reach a maximum total length of 27.3 centimetres.