Apterichtus australis McCosker & Randall, 2005
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
Apterichtus australis, the snake eel or South Pacific snake eel, is a species of snake eel native to the south Pacific Ocean where it occurs around the island groups of Rapa Iti, Pitcairn, Easter and the Kermadecs. It can be found at depths of from 12 to 100 metres (39 to 328 ft) inhabiting sandy areas near rocks or coral reefs. This species can reach a length of 40 centimetres (16 in) TL.
Wikipedia contributors, Apterichtus australis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:03:17.516546+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Apterichtus australis McCosker & Randall, 2005
- Name authority
- McCosker & Randall, 2005
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Ophichthidae
- Genus
- Apterichtus
- 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
- genusApterichtus Duméril, 1806
- speciesApterichtus australis McCosker & Randall, 2005
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Apterichtus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Apterichtus jeffwilliamsi McCosker & Hibino, 2015 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Apterichtus nanjilnaduensis Kodeeswaran, Ravinesh, Hibino & Saravanane, 2024 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Apterichtus dunalailai McCosker & Hibino, 2015 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Apterichtus flavicaudus (Snyder, 1904) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| finless eelApterichtus kendalli (Gilbert, 1891) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Apterichtus klazingai (Weber, 1913) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Apterichtus moseri (Jordan & Snyder, 1901) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Apterichtus mysi McCosker & Hibino, 2015 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Apterichtus nariculus McCosker & Hibino, 2015 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Apterichtus orientalis Machida & Ohta, 1994 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Apterichtus succinus Hibino, McCosker & Kimura, 2016 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Apterichtys australis McCosker & Randall, 2005 McCosker & Randall, 2005 | 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.
- McCosker, J. E., & Randall, J. E. (2005). Notes on the snake eels of the genera Apterichtus and Ichthyapus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae) of the Central and South Pacific, with the description of a new species. Zootaxa, 800: 1–11. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.800.1.1 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:682BT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.