Ophichthus spinicauda (Norman, 1922)
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 Antillian snake eel (Ophichthus spinicauda, also known commonly as the spinefin snake eel or the banded snake eel) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by John Roxborough Norman in 1922. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the western central Atlantic Ocean, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago, and Venezuela. It is known to dwell at a maximum depth of 300 meters, and inhabits coastal waters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 107 centimeters, but more commonly reach a TL of 70 cm.
The Antillian snake eel is of minor commercial interest to fisheries.
Wikipedia contributors, Antillian snake eel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:25:23.263776+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ophichthus spinicauda (Norman, 1922)
- Name authority
- (Norman, 1922)
- 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 spinicauda (Norman, 1922)
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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Ophychthus spinicauda (Norman, 1922) (Norman, 1922) | synonym |
| Ophichthus zonatus Howell Rivero, 1932 Howell Rivero, 1932 | synonym |
| Acanthenchelys spinicauda Norman, 1922 Norman, 1922 | 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=271983 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:49VJY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.