The Sooty eel (Bascanichthys bascanium) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by David Starr Jordan in 1884, originally under the genus Caecula. It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including North Carolina and Florida, USA, and the Gulf of Mexico. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 27 metres (0 to 89 ft). Males can reach a maximum total length of 70 centimetres (28 in). The Sooty eel is preyed on by the Atlantic tripletail.