sharptail eel
Myrichthys breviceps (Richardson, 1848)
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
Myrichthys breviceps, the sharptail snake-eel, is a fish species native to the Western Atlantic.
It has diffuse, yellow spots on a blueish-gray back and white belly. Spots are small on the head, and larger on the body. The eel can be found along the coasts of the Caribbean sea, mainly on sea grass beds, reefs, and in clear waters. Despite being nocturnal, they can also be seen foraging during daylight. Their food source is small invertebrates like crabs.
They allow close approach by divers and can easily be photographed, but buried in the sand when bothered.
Wikipedia contributors, Myrichthys breviceps; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:33:59.781056+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Myrichthys breviceps (Richardson, 1848)
- Name authority
- (Richardson, 1848)
- Common name
- sharptail eel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Ophichthidae
- Genus
- Myrichthys
- 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
- genusMyrichthys Girard, 1859
- speciesMyrichthys breviceps (Richardson, 1848)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Myrichthys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| goldspotted eelMyrichthys ocellatus (Lesueur, 1825) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Myrichthys pardalis (Valenciennes, 1839) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| longfin spotted snake eelMyrichthys aspetocheiros McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1993 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| harlequin snake-eelMyrichthys colubrinus (Boddaert, 1781) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| tiger snake-eelMyrichthys maculosus (Cuvier, 1816) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Myrichthys magnificus (Abbott, 1860) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarion snake eelMyrichthys pantostigmius Jordan & McGregor, 1898 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| tiger snake eelMyrichthys tigrinus Girard, 1859 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Myrichthys xysturus (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Leptocephalus undulatus Strömman, 1896 Strömman, 1896 | synonym |
| Ophichthys pisavarius Poey, 1876 Poey, 1876 | synonym |
| Muraena acuminata Gronow, 1854 Gronow, 1854 | synonym |
| Myrichthys acuminatus (Gronow, 1854) (Gronow, 1854) | synonym |
| Ophisurus longus Poey, 1867 Poey, 1867 | synonym |
| Ophisurus breviceps Richardson, 1848 Richardson, 1848 | synonym |
| Pisodonophis guttulatus Kaup, 1856 Kaup, 1856 | 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=158637 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:458HL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.