Nettastoma solitarium Castle & Smith, 1981
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 solitary duckbill eel (Nettastoma solitarium) is an eel in the family Nettastomatidae (duckbill/witch eels). It was described by Peter H. J. Castle and David G. Smith in 1981. It is a marine, deep-water-dwelling eel which is known from the Indo-Western Pacific, including Kyushu–Palau Ridge, the Philippines, Australia, and the Hawaiian Islands. It is known to dwell at a depth range of 415 to 610 metres (1,362 to 2,001 ft). Males can reach a maximum total length of 46.5 centimetres (18.3 in).
The species epithet "solitarium", meaning "solitary" in Latin, refers to the species' wide and isolated distribution in the Pacific.
Wikipedia contributors, Solitary duckbill 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 solitarium Castle & Smith, 1981
- Name authority
- Castle & Smith, 1981
- 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 solitarium Castle & Smith, 1981
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 parviceps Günther, 1877 | 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 |
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.
- Smith, D. G., Böhlke, J. E., & Castle, P. H. J. (1981). A revision of the nettastomatid eel genera Nettastoma and Nettenchelys (Pisces: Anguilliformes), with descriptions of six new species. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 94(2):535-560. 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:479Q2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.