Conger eel

Open encyclopedia reference

Gnathophis nystromi (known commonly as the conger eel) is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels). It was described by David Starr Jordan and John Otterbein Snyder in 1901, originally under the genus Leptocephalus. It contains two subspecies, Gnathophis nystromi nystromi, and Gnathophis nystromi ginanago, which was described by Hirotoshi Asano in 1958, originally under the genus Rhynchocymba.

G. nystromi nystromi is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the western Pacific Ocean, including Japan, the South China Sea, and Hawaii. It dwells at a depth range of 250–355 meters, and inhabits reefs. Males can reach a maximum total length of 45 cm (1 ft 6 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 35 cm (1 ft 2 in).

G. nystromi ginanago is a marine, temperate water-dwelling eel which is known from Japan, in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Males can reach a maximum total length of 40 centimeters.

Wikipedia contributors, Gnathophis nystromi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:51:02.236057+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Gnathophis nystromi (Jordan & Snyder, 1901)

Name authority

(Jordan & Snyder, 1901)

Common name

Conger eel

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Anguilliformes

Family

Congridae

Genus

Gnathophis

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderAnguilliformes
11. familyCongridae Kaup, 1856
12. subfamilyCongrinae Kaup, 1856
13. genusGnathophis Kaup, 1859
14. speciesGnathophis nystromi (Jordan & Snyder, 1901)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Gnathophis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 190 records assigned to Congridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=293607 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:3GLW8. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.