A mouth like a net
Its jaw is far bigger than the rest of its head, and opens wide to scoop up shrimps like a net.
The deep sea
Gulper eel
Eurypharynx pelecanoides
A black eel that is mostly mouth: a huge, loose, pouch-like jaw on a long whip of a body, with a light at the tip of its tail.
- Size
- Up to 75cm long
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Deep water in every ocean
Winds after you, mouth gaping. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Gulper eel
Good to know
Six things about the gulper eel
The pelican eel
It is also called the pelican eel, after the pouch of its lower jaw.
A light on its tail
The tip of its tail glows pink and gives off red flashes, perhaps to draw prey towards it.
It can blow up
It can puff up its mouth like a balloon, which may scare off a hunter.
Tiny eyes
Its eyes are tiny. They are probably used only to notice faint glimmers of light.
Small teeth
For all that mouth, its teeth are very small, so it must eat small, soft things.
The real thing
Photos of the gulper eel
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Gulper eels are known mostly from nets and from a few films made by deep-sea robots, where one was seen blowing up its mouth.
How to help
Like everything in the deep, it depends on the food that drifts down from above. A healthy surface ocean means a healthy deep.
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