harlequin snake-eel

Open encyclopedia reference

Myrichthys colubrinus, most commonly known as the banded snake eel, but is also referred to as the ringed snake eel or harlequin eel, is of the order of Anguiliformes. Anguiliformes include fishes that have long tubular body shapes. M. colubrinus is from the family Ophichthidae. Ophichthidae is one of the most ecologically diverse families present in the Anguiliformes order. Ophicthidae makes up approximately 260 species with 50 different genera. Animals from this family are commonly referred to as snake eels or worm eels due to their extended body shape, narrow heads and lack of defined fins, except for the large dorsal fin that runs down most of the length of their bodies and small pectoral fins. They are also notable for having particularly sharp and hard snouts and tails to support a burrowing lifestyle. Due to the fact that there are so many individuals within this family, identification can be challenging. This is especially notable when the eels are in their larval form. Many look incredibly similar to the point that identifying unique species from each other is not easy.

Wikipedia contributors, Myrichthys colubrinus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:41:04.802963+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Myrichthys colubrinus (Boddaert, 1781)

Name authority

(Boddaert, 1781)

Common name

harlequin snake-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.

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. familyOphichthidae Günther, 1870
12. subfamilyOphichthinae Günther, 1870
13. genusMyrichthys Girard, 1859
14. speciesMyrichthys colubrinus (Boddaert, 1781)

Close classified relatives

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

Browse 283 records assigned to Ophichthidae.

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=217579 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:458HM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.