The saddled snake-eel (Leiuranus semicinctus), also known commonly as the halfbanded snake-eel, the banded snake eel, or the culverin, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by George Tradescant Lay and Edward Turner Bennett in 1839, originally under the genus Ophisurus.Lay, G. T. and E. T. Bennett, 1839 [ref. 2730] Fishes. Pp. 41-75, Pls. 15-23. In: F.W. Bechey (ed.) The zoology of Captain Beechey's voyage, comp. from the collections ... to the Pacific and Behring's Straits... in 1825-28. H. G. Bohn, London. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific and southeastern Atlantic Ocean, including East and South Africa, the Hawaiian Islands, the Marquesan Islands, the Mangaréva islands, Japan, and Australia. It dwells at a depth range of , most often around , and inhabits lagoons and reefs, in which it forms burrows in beds of seagrass and sandy areas. Males can reach a maximum total length of .
The saddled snake-eel's diet consists of fish, crabs, prawns, and worms including Ptychodera. Males and females rise to the surface of the water during spawning.
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