barbed brotula
Selachophidium guentheri Gilchrist, 1903
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 barbed brotula (Selachophidium guentheri) is a species of cusk-eel found in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans off of the southern coast of Africa where it is found at depths of from 200 to 980 metres (660 to 3,220 ft). This species grows to a length of 30 centimetres (12 in) TL. This species is one of two member of its genus, the other being Selachophidium americanum. The barbed brotula has been found to have an ossified swelling of bone in the back of the skull that is connected to the pectoral girdle, vertebral column, and gas bladder via soft tissue.
Wikipedia contributors, Barbed brotula; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:09:45.754175+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Selachophidium guentheri Gilchrist, 1903
- Name authority
- Gilchrist, 1903
- Common name
- barbed brotula
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Ophidiiformes
- Family
- Ophidiidae
- Genus
- Selachophidium
- 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
- orderOphidiiformes
- familyOphidiidae Rafinesque, 1810
- subfamilyNeobythitinae Radcliffe, 1913
- genusSelachophidium Gilchrist, 1903
- speciesSelachophidium guentheri Gilchrist, 1903
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
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.
- Gilchrist, J. D. F. (1903). Descriptions of new South African fishes. Marine Investigations in South Africa, v. 2: 203–211, Pls. 13–18. https://doi.org/10.5962/p.366540 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:4WB96. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.