Napoleon snake eel

{{Short description|Species of fish}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Napoleon snake eel - Ophichthus bonaparti.jpg

| image_caption =

| genus = Ophichthus

| species = bonaparti

| authority = (Kaup, 1856)

| synonyms_ref = [http://www.fishbase.org/Nomenclature/SynonymsList.php?ID=15686&SynCode=47761&GenusName=Ophichthus&SpeciesName=bonaparti Synonyms of Ophichthus bonaparti] at www.fishbase.org.

| synonyms = * Poecilocephalus bonaparti Kaup, 1856

• Ophichthys bonaparti (Kaup, 1856)
• Ophichthys bonapartii (Kaup, 1856)
• Ophichthys episcopus Castelnau, 1878
• Ophichthus episcopus Castelnau, 1878
• Ophichthys garretti Günther, 1910
• Ophichthus garretti Günther, 1910

}}

The Napoleon snake eel (Ophichthus bonaparti, also known as the Napoleon eel, the Purplebanded snake eel, or the Saddled snake-eel[http://www.fishbase.org/comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=15686&GenusName=Ophichthus&SpeciesName=bonaparti&StockCode=14830 Common names of Ophichthus bonaparti] at www.fishbase.org.) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).[http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Ophichthus-bonaparti.html Ophichthus bonaparti] at www.fishbase.org. It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856, originally under the genus Poecilocephalus.{{cite journal|last=Kaup |first=J. J. |date=1856 |title=Uebersicht der Aale |journal=Archiv für Naturgeschichte |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=41-77 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7083450 |via=BHL}} It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including Durban, South Africa, Mauritius, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, and the Penghu Islands. It is known to dwell at a depth of {{convert|20|m|ft}}, and inhabits lagoons and reefs; it forms solitary burrows in sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of {{convert|75|cm|in}}.