tiger snake eel
Myrichthys tigrinus Girard, 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
The spotted snake eel (Myrichthys tigrinus), also known as the tiger snake eel or the spotted tiger snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by Charles Frédéric Girard in 1859. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, El Salvador, Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, and Peru. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 60 metres (0 to 200 ft), and inhabits benthic sediments of mud and sand. Males can reach a maximum total length of 74 centimetres (29 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 60 centimetres (24 in).
The spotted snake-eel is of no commercial interest to fisheries. Due to its wide distribution in the eastern Pacific, its lack of known threats and lack of observed population decline, the IUCN redlist currently lists the species as Least Concern.
Wikipedia contributors, Myrichthys tigrinus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:06:10.650158+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Myrichthys tigrinus Girard, 1859
- Name authority
- Girard, 1859
- Common name
- tiger 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.
- 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 tigrinus Girard, 1859
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 |
| sharptail eelMyrichthys breviceps (Richardson, 1848) | 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 |
| Myrichthys xysturus (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Girard, C. F. (1859). Ichthyological notices. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, v. 11: 56–68. ;v. 11:91. 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:458HZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.