duckbill oceanic eel
Nessorhamphus ingolfianus (Schmidt, 1912)
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.
A large (490mm) specimen of the mesopelagic eel Nessorhamphus ingolfianus from the NE Atlantic. The fish is shaped like a long sausage, with a flattened tail and a duck-like bill protruding from its narrow head. The skin is a corpse-like grey.
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Open encyclopedia reference
Nessorhamphus ingolfianus, the duckbill oceanic eel, duckbilled eel or Ingolf duckbill eel,) is an eel in the family Derichthyidae (longneck eels). It was described by Johannes Schmidt in 1912. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from France, Morocco, the Cape of Good Hope, and South Africa in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, as well as from the western Atlantic, southwestern Indian, and southwestern Pacific. It dwells at a depth range of 0–1,800 metres (0–5,900 ft), inhabiting the mesopelagic zone. Males can reach a maximum total length of 58.9 centimetres (23 in; 2 ft).
Nessorhamphus ingolfianus feeds primarily on crustaceans.
Wikipedia contributors, Nessorhamphus ingolfianus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:02:57.414667+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Nessorhamphus ingolfianus (Schmidt, 1912)
- Name authority
- (Schmidt, 1912)
- Common name
- duckbill oceanic eel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Derichthyidae
- Genus
- Nessorhamphus
- 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
- familyDerichthyidae Gill, 1884
- genusNessorhamphus Schmidt, 1931
- speciesNessorhamphus ingolfianus (Schmidt, 1912)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Nessorhamphus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Dana duckbill eelNessorhamphus danae Schmidt, 1931 | DerichthyidaeChordata | 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 ingolfianus Schmidt, 1912 Schmidt, 1912 | synonym |
| Avocettina scapularostris Borodin, 1929 Borodin, 1929 | 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=126292 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.
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:478SM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.