Heterenchelyidae
by L. Saldanha
Body elongate, slender; tail much longer than trunk. Snout conical; eyes very small, under skin. Mouth rather short, extending beyond eyes, lips well developed. Teeth conical or obtuse, bi- or multiserial on jaws, granular on vomer. Gill openings well separated, latero-ventral. Dorsal and anal fins very low, confluent with caudal fin; pectoral and pelvlc fins absent. Lateral line absent.
Benthic on the continental shelf at 20-60 m, hypogean in muddy substrates. Reproduction in warm hydrological season; leptocephali with metamorphic stages.
Genera 2; in Clofnam area 1.
Recent revisions: Ben-Tuvia (1956), Blache (1968).