Hastatobythites arafurensis Machida, 1997
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 spinyhead cusk (Hastatobythites arafurensis) is a species of viviparous brotula found in the western Pacific Ocean where it occurs from the Arafura Sea to New South Wales, Australia. It is found at depths of from 146 to 850 metres (479 to 2,789 ft). This species grows to a length of 9 centimetres (3.5 in) SL.
Wikipedia contributors, Spinyhead cusk; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:44:52.820228+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Hastatobythites arafurensis Machida, 1997
- Name authority
- Machida, 1997
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Ophidiiformes
- Family
- Bythitidae
- Genus
- Hastatobythites
- 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
- familyBythitidae Gill, 1861
- genusHastatobythites Machida, 1997
- speciesHastatobythites arafurensis Machida, 1997
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.
- Machida, Y. (1997). Hastatobythites arafurensis, a new bythitid genus and species from Australia (Bythitidae, Ophidiiformes). Ichthyological Research, 44 (4): 385–388. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02671990 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:6LFH5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.