Nettastoma parviceps Günther, 1877
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 duck-billed eel (Nettastoma parviceps), also known as the shortsnouted sorcerer or the smallhead duckbill eel, is an eel in the family Nettastomatidae (duckbill/witch eels). It was described by Albert Günther in 1877. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel, which is known from the Indo-Pacific and the southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Japan, Hawaii, eastern Australia, southeastern Africa, and Chile. It dwells at a depth range of 60–1190 metres, and inhabits the continental shelf and slope. Males can reach a maximum total length of 83 centimetres.
The species epithet "parviceps" means "little head" in Latin, and refers to the eel's head being somewhat smaller than that of Nettastoma melanura, which was the only other species in the genus known to the author. The duck-billed eel is of no commercial interest to fisheries.
Wikipedia contributors, Duck-billed eel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:20:23.631796+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Nettastoma parviceps Günther, 1877
- Name authority
- Günther, 1877
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Nettastomatidae
- Genus
- Nettastoma
- 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
- familyNettastomatidae Kaup, 1859
- genusNettastoma Rafinesque, 1810
- speciesNettastoma parviceps Günther, 1877
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Nettastoma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Nettastoma falcinaris Parin & Karmovskaya, 1985 | NettastomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nettastoma melanura Rafinesque, 1810 | NettastomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nettastoma solitarium Castle & Smith, 1981 | NettastomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nettastoma obscura (Schwarzhans, 1980) | NettastomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Nettastoma syntresis Smith & Böhlke, 1981 | NettastomatidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Metopomycter denticulatus Gilbert, 1905 Gilbert, 1905 | synonym |
| Nettastoma denticulatus (Gilbert, 1905) (Gilbert, 1905) | synonym |
| Metopomycter parviceps (Günther, 1877) (Günther, 1877) | 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.
- Günther, A. (1877). Preliminary notes on new fishes collected in Japan during the expedition of H. M. S. `Challenger.′. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (Series 4), v. 20 (no. 119) (art. 56): 433–446. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222937708682260 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:479PW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.