Ophichthus hirritus McCosker, 2010
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
Ophichthus hirritus is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by John E. McCosker in 2010. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the Seychelles Islands, in the western Indian Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth of 600 metres (2,000 ft). Males can reach a maximum total length of 52.8 centimetres (20.8 in), while females can reach a maximum TL of 53.4 centimetres (21.0 in).
The species epithet "hirritus" means "to snarl like a dog" in Latin, and refers to the eel's facial structure.
Wikipedia contributors, Ophichthus hirritus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:25:19.654747+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ophichthus hirritus McCosker, 2010
- Name authority
- McCosker, 2010
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Ophichthidae
- Genus
- Ophichthus
- 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
- genusOphichthus Ahl, 1789
- speciesOphichthus hirritus McCosker, 2010
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Ophichthus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Ophichthus aniptocheilos McCosker, 2010 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| thin snake eelOphichthus apachus McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1998 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| bluntnose snake-eelOphichthus apicalis (Anonymous [Bennett], 1830) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus arneutes McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1998 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus celebicus (Bleeker, 1856) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus congroides McCosker, 2010 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus cylindroideus (Ranzani, 1839) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus erabo (Jordan & Snyder, 1901) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus fowleri (Jordan & Evermann, 1903) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus grandoculis (Cantor, 1849) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus humanni McCosker, 2010 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophichthus ishiyamorum McCosker, 2010 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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. (2010). Deepwater Indo-Pacific species of the snake-eel genus Ophichthus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae), with the description of nine new species. Zootaxa, 2505: 1–39. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2505.1.1 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:6SP5G. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.