Pacific worm eel
Myrophis vafer Jordan & Gilbert, 1883
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 Pacific worm eel (Myrophis vafer, also known commonly as the worm eel in the United Kingdom) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert in 1883. It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including California, USA, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, and Peru. It dwells at a depth range of 1 to 12 metres (0 to 40 ft), and inhabits sand and mud sediments. Unlike many species of eel, it does not form burrows. Males can reach a maximum total length of 46 centimetres (1 ft 6 in).
Young Pacific worm eels are drawn to lights at the sea's surface. Due to its wide distribution, lack of known major threats and lack of observed population decline, the IUCN redlist currently lists the species as Least Concern.
Wikipedia contributors, Pacific worm eel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:08:10.512554+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Myrophis vafer Jordan & Gilbert, 1883
- Name authority
- Jordan & Gilbert, 1883
- Common name
- Pacific worm eel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Ophichthidae
- Genus
- Myrophis
- 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
- genusMyrophis Lütken, 1852
- speciesMyrophis vafer Jordan & Gilbert, 1883
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Myrophis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| broadnose worm eelMyrophis platyrhynchus Breder, 1927 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Myrophis anterodorsalis McCosker, Böhlke & Böhlke, 1989 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Myrophis lepturus Kotthaus, 1968 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Myrophis microchir (Bleeker, 1864) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Myrophis plumbeus (Cope, 1871) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| speckled worm eelMyrophis punctatus Lütken, 1852 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Hesperomyrus fryi Myers & Storey, 1939 Myers & Storey, 1939 | 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.
- Jordan, D. S., & Gilbert, C. H. (1883). Description of two new species of fishes (Myrophis vafer and Chloroscombrus orqueta) from Panama. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, v. 5 (no. 334): 645–647. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.5-334.645 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:6S4WK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.