Thanks to its wide, loosely hinged mouth that makes up about a quarter of its total body length, the gulper eel (Eurypharynx pelecanoides) has become a poster child for the deep sea and the bizarre creatures that live there. No surprise then that Safari Ltd. included it in their Creatures of the Deep collection back in 1998. Along with the gulper eel the set also included a viperfish, black loosejaw, dragonfish, anglerfish, and hatchetfish. The figures are notable for featuring a glow-in-the dark gimmick to mimic the bioluminescence of the actual animals. These figures are all now retired and highly sought after. Although usually commanding a high price I was able to snag this gulper eel figure for $15 on eBay and I’m excited to share it here.
The gulper eel is a member of the Anguilliforme (true eels) order along with about 800 other species, including the moray, conger, and freshwater eels. The gulper eel is the sole member of its family, Eurypharyngidae. The body is overall similar to other eels, but the mouth is enormous. It can be opened wide enough to swallow prey larger than the eel itself but typically the mouth is used like a net to scoop up smaller prey like crustaceans and squid. It functions similarly to a pelican bill and so the species is also known as a pelican eel. Gulper eels live around the world in temperate and tropical waters between 1,600’ – 9,800’ (500-3000 meters).
The Safari gulper eel measures about 9” (22.86 cm) in total length while the actual gulper eel measures between 24”-36” (60.96- 91.44 cm). This puts the Safari figure at 1/2-1/4 in scale. It is presented with its mouth opened wide and the body bending leftward and then curling rightward.
The figure appears reasonably accurate to the actual gulper eel. The eyes and head are small despite the large mouth. The inside of the mouth lacks teeth and in life the teeth of the gulper eel are tiny. Behind the head and near the pectoral fins are the gills, which expel the water gulped by the eel while lunge feeding. During the feeding process the gulper eel’s mouth takes in an enormous amount of water, making the fish look like a balloon. Like most eels the gulper eel and this figure lack scales or pelvic fins. The dorsal and anal fins are long with the dorsal continuing down most of the body past its origin.
Running along the sides of the body are a series of raised bumps that represent the gulper eel’s unusual lateral line system, which in most fish is contained within a groove down the fish’s body. The body is mostly painted black, as in life, but the fins and mouth are pink and orange. The inside of the mouth, eyes, lateral line bumps, dorsal fin, and tail tip all glow in the dark. In life all of these portions do not glow but the tail tip does, producing a pink light with the ability to flash red.
The Safari Ltd. gulper eel is a 25-year-old toy that holds up remarkably well and does a sufficient job of representing this unusual fish in your collection or toybox. It can also be found for a reasonable price with a bit of patience on eBay. Other gulper eel figures exist by AAA, Colorata, and in Safari’s Incredible Creatures line and as a TOOB figure but none of them are easy to come by aside from the TOOB one.
We’re past due for another gulper eel to be put into production but in the meantime the retired figures that do exist are all decent, just hard to come by. No matter which one you choose and how you acquire it, the gulper eel is a requirement for any deep sea collection.
