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Article

Trophic Ecology of Slender Snipe Eel Nemichthys scolopaceus Richardson, 1848 (Anguilliformes: Nemichthyidae) in the Central Mediterranean Sea

by
Andrea Geraci
1,†,
Andrea Scipilliti
1,†,
Ylenia Guglielmo
1,
Chiara Lauritano
2,
Adriana Profeta
3,
Roberta Minutoli
1,*,
Francesca Veneziano
3,
Davide Di Paola
1,
Daniela Massi
4,
Letterio Guglielmo
2,5,
Pierluigi Carbonara
6 and
Antonia Granata
1
1
Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, ME, Italy
2
Zoological Station “Anton Dohrn”, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, CAM, Italy
3
Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology, National Research Council (CNR), 98122 Messina, ME, Italy
4
Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology, National Research Council (CNR), 91026 Mazara del Vallo, TP, Italy
5
Institute of Polar Sciences, National Research Council (CNR), 98122 Messina, ME, Italy
6
Fondazione COISPA ETS, 70126 Bari, BA, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Water 2025, 17(16), 2405; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17162405
Submission received: 30 May 2025 / Revised: 11 August 2025 / Accepted: 12 August 2025 / Published: 14 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Biodiversity and Functionality of Aquatic Ecosystems)
Versions Notes

Abstract

The slender snipe eel Nemichthys scolopaceus Richardson, 1848 is cosmopolitan in tropical and temperate seas, inhabiting the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zone between 200 and 1000 m depth. It is known to be an active predator in the DSL (Deep Scattering Layer) and the NBA (Near Bottom Aggregation), feeding mostly on decapod and euphausiid crustaceans, and playing a central role in carbon fluxes through meso- and bathypelagic ecosystems. Despite its potential importance in the deep trophic web ecosystem, the trophic ecology of Nemichthys scolopaceus is not well known. The aim of this study was to start to fill this knowledge gap. A total of 35 specimens of N. scolopaceus caught through bottom trawling in the Mediterranean Sea were analyzed in the laboratory for stomach content composition. As expected, mainly decapod crustaceans were found, in particular Plesionika martia, Pasiphaea multidentata, Funchalia woodwardi, and Robustosergia robusta species. The degree of digestion of prey in the stomachs was high in all cases. Our findings seem to confirm the specialist diet of Nemichthys scolopaceus based on shrimp-like crustaceans.
Keywords: deep-water species; feeding habits; morphological prey counts; pelagic eel; Nemichthys scolopaceus deep-water species; feeding habits; morphological prey counts; pelagic eel; Nemichthys scolopaceus

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MDPI and ACS Style

Geraci, A.; Scipilliti, A.; Guglielmo, Y.; Lauritano, C.; Profeta, A.; Minutoli, R.; Veneziano, F.; Di Paola, D.; Massi, D.; Guglielmo, L.; et al. Trophic Ecology of Slender Snipe Eel Nemichthys scolopaceus Richardson, 1848 (Anguilliformes: Nemichthyidae) in the Central Mediterranean Sea. Water 2025, 17, 2405. https://doi.org/10.3390/w17162405

AMA Style

Geraci A, Scipilliti A, Guglielmo Y, Lauritano C, Profeta A, Minutoli R, Veneziano F, Di Paola D, Massi D, Guglielmo L, et al. Trophic Ecology of Slender Snipe Eel Nemichthys scolopaceus Richardson, 1848 (Anguilliformes: Nemichthyidae) in the Central Mediterranean Sea. Water. 2025; 17(16):2405. https://doi.org/10.3390/w17162405

Chicago/Turabian Style

Geraci, Andrea, Andrea Scipilliti, Ylenia Guglielmo, Chiara Lauritano, Adriana Profeta, Roberta Minutoli, Francesca Veneziano, Davide Di Paola, Daniela Massi, Letterio Guglielmo, and et al. 2025. "Trophic Ecology of Slender Snipe Eel Nemichthys scolopaceus Richardson, 1848 (Anguilliformes: Nemichthyidae) in the Central Mediterranean Sea" Water 17, no. 16: 2405. https://doi.org/10.3390/w17162405

APA Style

Geraci, A., Scipilliti, A., Guglielmo, Y., Lauritano, C., Profeta, A., Minutoli, R., Veneziano, F., Di Paola, D., Massi, D., Guglielmo, L., Carbonara, P., & Granata, A. (2025). Trophic Ecology of Slender Snipe Eel Nemichthys scolopaceus Richardson, 1848 (Anguilliformes: Nemichthyidae) in the Central Mediterranean Sea. Water, 17(16), 2405. https://doi.org/10.3390/w17162405

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