giant cuskeel
Spectrunculus grandis (Günther, 1877)
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
Spectrunculus grandis is a species of Rhizopharyngia ray-finned fish in the cusk-eel family known by the common names pudgy cusk-eel and giant cusk-eel. It is one of two species in the formerly monotypic genus Spectrunculus, the other species, S. crassus, having been differentiated in 2008. The pudgy cusk-eel is a common fish of deep oceans worldwide. It is bathydemersal, living along the ocean floor most often at depths between 2,000 and 3,000 metres (6,560 and 9,840 ft), and known from waters as deep as 4,800 metres (15,750 ft). It is one of the largest bony fishes living below 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), reaching up to 127 centimetres (50 in) in length, and 5.4 kg (11 lb 14 oz) in weight. The male is larger than the female and darker in colour. It has a long, laterally compressed body and a rounded snout with a single fleshy anterior nostril in front of a flat posterior nostril.
Wikipedia contributors, Spectrunculus grandis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:33:03.953712+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Spectrunculus grandis (Günther, 1877)
- Name authority
- (Günther, 1877)
- Common name
- giant cuskeel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Ophidiiformes
- Family
- Ophidiidae
- Genus
- Spectrunculus
- 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
- genusSpectrunculus Jordan & Thompson, 1914
- speciesSpectrunculus grandis (Günther, 1877)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Spectrunculus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Spectrunculus crassus (Vaillant, 1888) | OphidiidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Spectrunculus gigas (Günther, 1877) (Günther, 1877) | synonym |
| Neobythites grandis (Günther, 1877) (Günther, 1877) | synonym |
| Bassogigas grandis (Günther, 1877) (Günther, 1877) | synonym |
| Sirembo grandis Günther, 1877 Günther, 1877 | synonym |
| Spectrunculus radcliffei Jordan & Thompson, 1914 Jordan & Thompson, 1914 | 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=126678 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:4YH3R. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.