whip eel
Bascanichthys scuticaris (Goode & Bean, 1880)
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 whip eel (Bascanichthys scuticaris is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by George Brown Goode and Tarleton Hoffman Bean in 1880. It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including the United States and the Gulf of Mexico. It inhabits reefs and coastal waters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 76 centimetres (30 in). Whip eels are very similar in appearance to sooty eels (which are also found throughout the Gulf of Mexico), but whip eels can be distinguished by a row of small pale spots running along the lateral line.
Wikipedia contributors, Whip eel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:45:41.964896+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Bascanichthys scuticaris (Goode & Bean, 1880)
- Name authority
- (Goode & Bean, 1880)
- Common name
- whip eel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Ophichthidae
- Genus
- Bascanichthys
- 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
- genusBascanichthys Jordan & Davis, 1891
- speciesBascanichthys scuticaris (Goode & Bean, 1880)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Bascanichthys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| sooty sand eelBascanichthys bascanoides Osburn & Nichols, 1916 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bascanichthys deraniyagalai Menon, 1961 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bascanichthys myersi (Herre, 1932) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bascanichthys inopinatus McCosker, Böhlke & Böhlke, 1989 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bascanichthys ceciliae Blache & Cadenat, 1971 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bascanichthys fijiensis (Seale, 1935) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bascanichthys cylindricus Meek & Hildebrand, 1923 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bascanichthys gaira Moreno, Acero P. & Grijalba-Bendeck, 2016 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bascanichthys filaria (Günther, 1872) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bascanichthys longipinnis (Kner & Steindachner, 1867) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bascanichthys paulensis Storey, 1939 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| sooty eelBascanichthys bascanium (Jordan, 1884) | OphichthidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Sphagebranchus scuticaris Goode & Bean, 1880 Goode & Bean, 1880 | synonym |
| Sphagebranchus teres Goode & Bean, 1882 Goode & Bean, 1882 | 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=158601 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:5WDCN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.