snapper eel
Echiophis punctifer (Kaup, 1859)
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
Echiophis punctifer, the stippled spoon-nose eel, spoon-nose eel or snapper eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1859. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba, northern South America, Senegal, and Angola. It dwells at a depth range of 40 to 100 metres (130 to 330 ft), and inhabits shallow bays and lagoons, in which it forms burrows in mud and sand. Males can reach a maximum total length of 180 centimetres (71 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 100 centimetres (39 in).
The species epithet "punctifer", treated as a name in apposition, means "dotted" in Latin, and refers to the eel's colouration.
The eel is pinkish in color and has small dots, similar to leopard print.
Wikipedia contributors, Echiophis punctifer; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:54:46.140089+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Echiophis punctifer (Kaup, 1859)
- Name authority
- (Kaup, 1859)
- Common name
- snapper eel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Ophichthidae
- Genus
- Echiophis
- 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
- familyOphichthidae Günther, 1870
- subfamilyOphichthinae Günther, 1870
- genusEchiophis Kaup, 1856
- speciesEchiophis punctifer (Kaup, 1859)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Echiophis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| fangjaw eelEchiophis brunneus (Castro-Aguirre & Suárez de los Cobos, 1983) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| spotted spoon-nose eelEchiophis intertinctus (Richardson, 1848) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Echiophis creutzbergi (Cadenat, 1956) (Cadenat, 1956) | synonym |
| Echiophis mordax (Poey, 1860) (Poey, 1860) | synonym |
| Mystriophis creutzbergi Cadenat, 1956 Cadenat, 1956 | synonym |
| Mystriophis punctifer (Kaup, 1859) (Kaup, 1859) | synonym |
| Crotalopsis punctifer Kaup, 1859 Kaup, 1859 | synonym |
| Conger mordax Poey, 1860 Poey, 1860 | synonym |
| Ophichthys schneideri Steindachner, 1879 Steindachner, 1879 | 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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=158610 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:38LPL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.