Help with fish ID

[YCW]

This was taken at Lembeh last year. We spotted a fish half buried in the sand having a feast on another. Can someone help to ID the fish? My fellow diver friends have suggested either lizard fish or snake eel. And the fish he is eating?



Close up

 

[CON8IV]

Not sure about the one in the sand, but the one being eaten looks like a flying gurnard to me. Perhaps someone with more i.d. experience will chime in. Great pic by the way!

 

[DennisW]

Man, what an interesting pic. Based on the fins of the eatee, I agree with Jaybird. The other fish could very well be a Lizardfish otherwise known as a Sandiver. I am no expert by any means and I have nearly no experience with Pacific Ocean fish.

 

[Mr.X]

I like the second picture. The fish seems to have a satisfied look in the eye...or is that the strain of trying to swallow something so large?

BTW - was the fish still struggling when you snapped the photo...or was it already toasted?

 

[Rick Murchison]

If this were in the Atlantic/Caribbean I'd say the predator was a Spotted Spoon-Nose Eel. So... I think it's a Snake Eel of some sort, but the exact species I can't ID.
Rick

 

[ScubaKris]

It's a Lizard fish. I catch many of them her ein FLorida, very aggresive and will attck things much larger then themselves. Wife likes them raw, great white meat ,. a lot of bones, Dogs love them, best to put them in the pressure pot for them so the bones soften up

 

[Rick Murchison]

It's a Lizard fish.

It could be, but I don't think so...
Here's a lizardfish that's close...

And here's a snake eel...

Rick

 

[YCW]

BTW - was the fish still struggling when you snapped the photo...or was it already toasted?

No. There was no movement at all, definitely toasted .

Almost everyone I asked has given an ID of either a lizard fish or a snake eel. I myself are leaning towards lizard fish. Incidentally, we also spotted snake eel at the same area (see picture below). But that snake eel is quite easy to identified with the two skin flaps just above the mouth. However, the second picture Rick attached in his post clearly shows that some snake eels do not have that flaps.

??

 

[designbysue]

Here's another pic of a sand diver.
My Photos :: Grenada 2007 :: 081_G

and a flying gurnard here
My Photos :: Grenada 2007 :: 162_G

Sue

 

[Rick Murchison]

Aside from the shape of the snout and jaws, the things that have me leaning towards snake eel rather than lizardfish are the apparent lack of scales and the apparent wrinkled skin - both of which are snake eel and not lizardfish.
However... both could just be my interpretation of what I'm seeing in the photos and not what's really there. Such is the nature of "ID by pix."