flappy snake-eel
Phyllophichthus xenodontus Gosline, 1951
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 Flappy snake-eel (Phyllophichthus xenodontus) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels), and the only species in the genus Phyllophichthus. It was described by William Alonzo Gosline in 1951. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including East Africa, the Hawaiian Islands, the Marquesan Islands, the Society Islands, the Caroline Islands and the Marshall Islands. It dwells at a depth range of 8–30 metres, and inhabits reefs and inshore waters. It leads a benthic lifestyle, and forms burrows. Males can reach a maximum total length of 42 centimetres.
Wikipedia contributors, Flappy snake-eel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:00:06.974038+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Phyllophichthus xenodontus Gosline, 1951
- Name authority
- Gosline, 1951
- Common name
- flappy snake-eel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Ophichthidae
- Genus
- Phyllophichthus
- 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
- genusPhyllophichthus Gosline, 1951
- speciesPhyllophichthus xenodontus Gosline, 1951
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Phyllophichthus macrurus McKay, 1970 McKay, 1970 | 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.
- Gosline, W. A. (1951). The osteology and classification of the ophichthid eels of the Hawaiian Islands. Pacific Science, 5 (4): 298–320. 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:4H9N4. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.