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The members of this family are eel-like in appearance, but they differ very obviously from the true eels in having well-developed ventral fins in the form of long forked barbel-like structures, situated on the throat. Their soft-rayed dorsal and anal fins are low but continuous around the tip of the tail; the gill openings are very wide, and the snout projects beyond the mouth. Many species are known, most of them from warm seas.