Diaphenchelys pelonates McCosker & Randall, 2007
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The mud-dwelling moray (Diaphenchelys pelonates) is a species of eel in the family Muraenidae It was described by John E. McCosker and John Ernest Randall in 2007. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from Indonesia, in the western Pacific Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 15 to 32 metres (49 to 105 ft), and inhabits muddy bottoms, from which its species epithet, "pelonates" (translating literally as "mud dweller", from Ancient Greek, and treated as a noun in apposition), is derived. Males can reach a maximum total length of 46.5 centimetres (18.3 in).
Wikipedia contributors, Mud-dwelling moray; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:31:07.373999+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Diaphenchelys pelonates McCosker & Randall, 2007
- Name authority
- McCosker & Randall, 2007
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Muraenidae
- Genus
- Diaphenchelys
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderAnguilliformes
- familyMuraenidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyMuraeninae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusDiaphenchelys McCosker & Randall, 2007
- speciesDiaphenchelys pelonates McCosker & Randall, 2007
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Diaphenchelys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Diaphenchelys dalmatian Hibino, Satapoomin & Kimura, 2017 | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- McCosker, J. E., & Randall, J. E. (2007). A new genus and species of mud-dwelling moray eel (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) from Indonesia. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., 58. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:35BS3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.