slender snake eel

Open encyclopedia reference

Ophichthus longipenis, known commonly as the slender snake eel in Mexico, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by John E. McCosker and Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt in 1998. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central Pacific Ocean, including Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 69 metres (0 to 226 ft), and inhabits sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 58.7 centimetres (23.1 in).

The species epithet "longipenis" means "long tail" in Latin. Due to its moderately wide distribution in its region, its lack of known threats, and lack of observed population decline, the IUCN redlist currently lists O. longipenis as Least Concern.

Wikipedia contributors, Ophichthus longipenis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:11:31.958635+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Ophichthus longipenis McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1998

Name authority

McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1998

Common name

slender snake eel

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Anguilliformes

Family

Ophichthidae

Genus

Ophichthus

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. genusOphichthus Ahl, 1789
14. speciesOphichthus longipenis McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1998

Close classified relatives

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

Browse 283 records assigned to Ophichthidae.

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. McCosker, J. E., & Rosenblatt, R. H. (1998). A revision of the Eastern Pacific snake-eel genus Ophichthus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) with the description of six new species. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., 50. 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:49VHL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.