blackpored eel
Ophichthus melanoporus Kanazawa, 1963
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 blackpored eel (Ophichthus melanoporus) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by Robert H. Kanazawa in 1963. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the western central Atlantic Ocean, including Florida, USA; the Bahamas, and Mexico. It dwells at a depth range of 51–460 meters. While the adults inhabit deep water, the larvae are laid inshore. Males can reach a maximum total length of 70 centimeters.
Despite its considerable distribution, the IUCN redlist currently lists the blackpored eel as Data Deficient due to a lack of information on its population, habitat preferences, ecology, and potential threats.
Wikipedia contributors, Blackpored eel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:09:53.843944+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ophichthus melanoporus Kanazawa, 1963
- Name authority
- Kanazawa, 1963
- Common name
- blackpored 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderAnguilliformes
- familyOphichthidae Günther, 1870
- subfamilyOphichthinae Günther, 1870
- genusOphichthus Ahl, 1789
- speciesOphichthus melanoporus Kanazawa, 1963
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Ophichthus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Ophichthus aniptocheilos McCosker, 2010 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| thin snake eelOphichthus apachus McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1998 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| bluntnose snake-eelOphichthus apicalis (Anonymous [Bennett], 1830) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus arneutes McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1998 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus celebicus (Bleeker, 1856) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus congroides McCosker, 2010 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus cylindroideus (Ranzani, 1839) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus erabo (Jordan & Snyder, 1901) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus fowleri (Jordan & Evermann, 1903) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus grandoculis (Cantor, 1849) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus humanni McCosker, 2010 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus ishiyamorum McCosker, 2010 | 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.
- Kanazawa, R. H. (1963). Two new species of ophichthid eels from the western Atlantic. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 76: 281–287. 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:49VHX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.