Asian swamp eel
Monopterus albus (Zuiew, 1793)
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 Asian swamp eel (Monopterus albus), also known as rice eel, ricefield eel, rice paddy eel, or white rice-field eel, is a commercially important, air-breathing species of fish in the family Synbranchidae. It occurs in East and Southeast Asia, where it is commonly sold and eaten throughout the region. It has been introduced to two areas near the Everglades in Florida and near Atlanta, Georgia.
Wikipedia contributors, Asian swamp eel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:06:10.649158+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Monopterus albus (Zuiew, 1793)
- Name authority
- (Zuiew, 1793)
- Common name
- Asian swamp eel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Synbranchiformes
- Family
- Synbranchidae
- Genus
- Monopterus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: yes · 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
- orderSynbranchiformes
- suborderSynbranchoidei
- familySynbranchidae Bonaparte, 1835
- genusMonopterus Lacepède, 1800
- speciesMonopterus albus (Zuiew, 1793)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Monopterus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Monopterus bicolor Nguyen & Nguyen, 2005 | SynbranchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Monopterus dienbienensis Nguyen & Nguyen, 2005 | SynbranchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Monopterus roseni Bailey & Gans, 1998 | SynbranchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=281590 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:4495D. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.