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Ophichthus stenopterus Cope, 1871

Source-backed taxonomic record

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

Ophichthus stenopterus is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by Edward Drinker Cope in 1871. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western central Pacific Ocean.

Wikipedia contributors, Ophichthus stenopterus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:25:31.593816+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Ophichthus stenopterus Cope, 1871
Name authority
Cope, 1871
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 stenopterus Cope, 1871

Close classified relatives

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

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Ophichthus aniptocheilos McCosker, 2010OphichthidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
thin snake eelOphichthus apachus McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1998OphichthidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
bluntnose snake-eelOphichthus apicalis (Anonymous [Bennett], 1830)OphichthidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Ophichthus arneutes McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1998OphichthidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Ophichthus celebicus (Bleeker, 1856)OphichthidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Ophichthus congroides McCosker, 2010OphichthidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Ophichthus cylindroideus (Ranzani, 1839)OphichthidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Ophichthus erabo (Jordan & Snyder, 1901)OphichthidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Ophichthus fowleri (Jordan & Evermann, 1903)OphichthidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Ophichthus grandoculis (Cantor, 1849)OphichthidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Ophichthus humanni McCosker, 2010OphichthidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Ophichthus ishiyamorum McCosker, 2010OphichthidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 283 records assigned to Ophichthidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Ophichthys stenopterus Cope, 1871 Cope, 1871synonym

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. Cope, E. D. (1871). Contribution to the ichthyology of the Lesser Antilles. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society (New Series), v. 14 (pt 3) (art. 5): 445–483. 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:49VJZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.