basketwork eel
Diastobranchus capensis Barnard, 1923
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 basketwork eel, Diastobranchus capensis, is a cutthroat eel, the only species in the genus Diastobranchus. It is found off southern Australia, South Africa, and around New Zealand, in depths over 1,000 m. Its length is between 80 and 120 cm.
Wikipedia contributors, Basketwork eel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:09:45.755174+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Diastobranchus capensis Barnard, 1923
- Name authority
- Barnard, 1923
- Common name
- basketwork eel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Synaphobranchidae
- Genus
- Diastobranchus
- 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
- familySynaphobranchidae Johnson, 1862
- subfamilySynaphobranchinae Johnson, 1862
- genusDiastobranchus Barnard, 1923
- speciesDiastobranchus capensis Barnard, 1923
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Ilyophis capensis (Barnard, 1923) (Barnard, 1923) | synonym |
| Diastobranchus danae (Bruun, 1937) (Bruun, 1937) | synonym |
| Synaphobranchus capensis (Barnard, 1923) (Barnard, 1923) | synonym |
| Synaphobranchus danae Bruun, 1937 Bruun, 1937 | synonym |
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.
- Barnard, K. H. (1923). Diagnoses of new species of marine fishes from South African waters. Annals of the South African Museum, 13 (pt 8, no. 14): 439–445. 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:35FL5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.