Snakefish, Trachinocephalus myops

Snakefish, Trachinocephalus myops. Fish caught from coastal waters off Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, August 2021. Length: 11 cm (4.3 inches).  Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Snakefish, Trachinocephalus myops. Fish caught from coastal waters off Broward County, Florida, June 2021. Length: 17 cm (6.7 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Sebastian, Florida.

Snakefish, Trachinocephalus myops. Fish caught from coastal waters off Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, February 2022. Length: 24 cm (9.5 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

The Snakefish, Trachinocephalus myops, is a member of the Lizardfish or Synodontidae Family, that is also known as the Bluntnose Lizardfish and in Mexico as chile chato. Globally, there are three species in the genus Trachinocephalus, one of which, this species, is found in Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Snakefish has a robust cylindrical body. They are pale gray brown with yellow along the sides. They have an oval black spot a the top corner of the gill cover and a series of pale blue stripes narrowly edged in black along the sides of the body. Their head is blunt with a short snout with eyes set far forward and a large mouth that is strongly oblique with a slightly projecting lower jaw equipped with fin pointed teeth. Their adipose fin is small and located above the anal fin; their anal fin has 15 to 17 rays and has a base that is longer than the dorsal fin base and located mid-way between the pectoral fins and the caudal peduncle; their caudal fin is forked; their single dorsal fin has 11 to 14 rays and is located mid-body; their pectoral fins are short; and, their pelvic fins have 8 rays and before the dorsal fin and behind the pectoral fins. They have a straight lateral line. They are covered with small scales.

The Snakefish is found over mud, rubble and sand substrate, often around reefs, at depths up to 430 m (1,400 feet). They are also found in estuaries. They reach a maximum of 40 cm (16 inches) in length. They are known to rest on the bottom and will swim short distances. They will often burrow into substrate leaving they eyes exposed. They are lie-in-wait ambush predators that feed on crustaceans and small fish. Reproduction is oviparous being dioecious with separate males and females; fertilization is external. The Snakefish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Snakefish is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Caribbean.

The Snakefish is most likely confused with the Bluestripe Lizardfish, Synodus saurus (body with blue and orange stripes), the Inshore Lizardfish, Synodus foetens (long snout, 6 to 8 dark marks and rows of pale spots on the sides), the Largespot Lizardfish, Synodus macrostigmus (dark lower caudal fin lobe; 6 to 8 dark bars on the sides; black shoulder patch); the Red Lizardfish, Synodus synodus (black snout tip; 8 to 10 dark bars joining dark diamonds on the flanks); and the Sand Diver, Synodus intermedius (pointed snout; 9 to 12 dark bars on the sides, black shoulder patch).

From a conservation perspective the Snakefish is currently considered to be of Least Concern, with stable, widely distributed populations. They are caught as a bycatch by both recreational and commercial fishermen but only retained by subsistence fishermen.