longfin snake-eel
Pisodonophis cancrivorus (Richardson, 1848)
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.
Burrowing snake eel - Pisodonophis cancrivoris; Indonesia - North Sulawesi - Lembeh Street
Bernd · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The longfin snake-eel (Pisodonophis cancrivorus) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by John Richardson in 1848. It has a Dorsal fin beginning above its pectoral fin with a snake-like upper body which is cylindrical, but compressed only along its extreme tail tip. It also has a tubular nostril in front and a nostril along the lower edge of the lip in back. Colors range from grey to black to brown. Large longfin snake-eels have wrinkled skin.
Wikipedia contributors, Longfin snake-eel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:40:43.635827+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pisodonophis cancrivorus (Richardson, 1848)
- Name authority
- (Richardson, 1848)
- Common name
- longfin snake-eel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Ophichthidae
- Genus
- Pisodonophis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: yes · 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
- genusPisodonophis Kaup, 1856
- speciesPisodonophis cancrivorus (Richardson, 1848)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pisodonophis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| rice-paddy eelPisodonophis boro (Hamilton, 1822) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pisodonophis copelandi Herre, 1953 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pisodonophis semicinctus (Richardson, 1848) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blunt-toothed snake eelPisodonophis daspilotus Gilbert, 1898 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pisodonophis hijala (Hamilton, 1822) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pisodonophis hoevenii (Bleeker, 1853) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
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=217594 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.
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:4J8X5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.