The Snipe Eel has been taken in deep water at many stations off the east coast of North America between latitudes 31° and 42°N., longitudes 65° and 75°W. Capture near Bermuda of a snipe eel clinging by its jaws to the tail of a large red snapper has suggested that such may be a regular habit of this curious species. Maximum length about 3 feet.
One specimen taken from the stomach of a codfish caught on Georges Bank in 45 fathoms is the only Gulf of Maine record, but several have been taken in depths of from 300 to 2,000 fathoms on the seaward slope of the bank.
From Fishes of the Gulf of Maine by Bigelow and Schroeder (1953) online courtesy of MBL/WHOI http://www.gma.org/fogm/Nemichthys_scolopaceus.htm
Al Bezanson
Good Morning Gloucester 