Benthenchelys pacificus Castle, 1972
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
Benthenchelys pacificus is an eel in the family Ophichthidae, described by Peter Henry John Castle in 1972, originally as a subspecies of Benthenchelys cartieri. It is a marine, deep-water-dwelling eel known only from its type locality in the eastern central Pacific Ocean. It inhabits the pelagic zone.
Wikipedia contributors, Benthenchelys pacificus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:10:17.116923+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Benthenchelys pacificus Castle, 1972
- Name authority
- Castle, 1972
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Ophichthidae
- Genus
- Benthenchelys
- 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
- subfamilyMyrophinae Kaup, 1856
- genusBenthenchelys Fowler, 1934
- speciesBenthenchelys pacificus Castle, 1972
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Benthenchelys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Benthenchelys indicus Castle, 1972 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Benthenchelys cartieri pacificus Castle, 1972 Castle, 1972 | 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.
- Castle, P. H. J. (1972). The eel genus Benthenchelys (Fam. Ophichthidae) in the Indo-Pacific. Dana Report, No. 82: 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004630000_012 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:5WJ76. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.