What is cutthroat eel?

The cutthroat eel (Synaphobranchus kaupii) is a deep-sea eel species that belongs to the family Synaphobranchidae. They are found in deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and eastern Pacific Ocean.

Cutthroat eels have long, slender bodies that can grow up to 1.5 meters in length. They are dark brown to black in color with a distinctive red or orange stripe along their bellies, giving them their name "cutthroat." This stripe is thought to serve as a disguise in the dark depths where they live.

These eels are opportunistic predators, feeding on small fish, crustaceans, and other invertebrates. They have a unique jaw structure that allows them to swallow prey whole, making them efficient hunters in the deep-sea environment.

Little is known about the reproductive habits of cutthroat eels, but they are believed to spawn in the open ocean and have a larval stage that drifts with the currents before settling in deep-sea habitats.

Cutthroat eels play an important role in deep-sea ecosystems as both predator and prey. They are not targeted by commercial fisheries, but they are sometimes caught incidentally in deep-sea trawl fisheries. Overall, cutthroat eels are a mysterious and fascinating species that contribute to the biodiversity of the deep-sea environment.