Monkey-faced Prickleback
Cebidichthys violaceus
- Class
- Ray-finned fish
- Rarity
- Common
- Observations
- 900
- Most observed in
- 🇺🇸 United States
Description
The monkeyface prickleback (Cebidichthys violaceus), also commonly known as the monkeyface eel, is a species of prickleback native to the Pacific coast of North America. Although its shape resembles an eel due to its slender and leg-less body, the monkeyface prickleback does not belong to the order Anguilliformes, which includes true eels, instead, it is classified under either the Perciformes, along with nearly half of all bony fish, or the Scorpaeniformes, according to different authorities. Observations in nature and in the laboratory indicate that C. violaceus is a cryptic, bottom dweller and a weak, short-distance swimmer.
Summary adapted from the Wikipedia article “Monkeyface prickleback”.