Cutthroat eel

Cutthroat eels are a family, Synaphobranchidae, of eels, the only members of the suborder Synaphobranchoidei. They are found worldwide in temperate and tropical seas.

Cutthroat eels range from 23 to 160 cm in length. They are bottom-dwelling fish, found in deep waters down to about 3700 m. They are distinguished by the presence of telescopic eyes in the larvae. In some classifications (for example, ITIS), this family is split, with Simenchelys in its own family, the Simenchelyidae.