• Coloration is dark brown to green; body is elongated, muscular and snakelike with a continuous dorsal, caudal and anal fin. Lacks pectoral and pelvic fins.
• Covered in layer of yellow mucus to protect against parasites.
• Large mouth with many teeth. Teeth are large with smooth edges. Pharyngeal teeth located in the throat which can move forward into the mouth.
• Common length: 4.9 feet (1.5 m); maximum length is 8.2 feet (2.5 m); maximum weight is 63.9 lbs. (29.0 kg)

• Diet mainly consists of crustaceans and fishes.
• Nocturnal hunter.
• May wrap itself in the shape of a knot around prey to pull it into smaller pieces.

• Occurs in the Western Atlantic from New Jersey to Bermuda and the Gulf of Mexico, south to Brazil; Eastern Atlantic around the Ascension Islands.
• Found in tropical waters near coral reefs, rocky shorelines and mangroves, often seen with only the head poking out from a crevice, hole or ledge, in depths up to 164 feet (50 m). Commonly in depths less than 98 feet (30 m).

• Oviparous, or egg-laying.
• Transparent, leaf-like larval stage called a “leptocephalus.”

SIZE IS 18-22 INCHES