Ophisternon candidum (Mees, 1962)
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 blind cave eel (Ophisternon candidum) is a species of cavefish in the family Synbranchidae. It is the longest cavefish in Australia (up to 40 cm (16 in)) and one of the only three vertebrates in Australia that is restricted to underground waters, the other being the blind gudgeon (Milyeringa veritas) and the Barrow cave gudgeon (Milyeringa justitia). It is blind, its body is eel-like and elongated, and it has a non-pigmented skin with colours ranging from white to pink. The blind cave eel is endemic to northwestern Australia, specifically in the Cape Range region, the Pilbara Region, and the Barrow Island region. It is rarely spotted due to its habitat and has only been spotted 36 times from 1959 to 2017. Notably, there is an evolving independent parentage in the Pilbara region showing a significant genetic difference from other blind cave eels. The blind cave eel lives in a total darkness environment in underground waters disconnecting from the surface seawater. They typically live in caves and burrow into sediments.
Wikipedia contributors, Blind cave eel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:25:47.118116+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ophisternon candidum (Mees, 1962)
- Name authority
- (Mees, 1962)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Synbranchiformes
- Family
- Synbranchidae
- Genus
- Ophisternon
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · 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
- orderSynbranchiformes
- suborderSynbranchoidei
- familySynbranchidae Bonaparte, 1835
- genusOphisternon McClelland, 1844
- speciesOphisternon candidum (Mees, 1962)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Ophisternon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| obscure swamp eelOphisternon aenigmaticum Rosen & Greenwood, 1976 | SynbranchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophisternon afrum (Boulenger, 1909) | SynbranchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophisternon bengalense McClelland, 1844 | SynbranchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophisternon gutturale (Richardson, 1845) | SynbranchidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ophisternon berlini Arroyave, Angulo, Mar-Silva & Stiassny, 2024 | SynbranchidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Annomatophasma candidum Mees, 1962 Mees, 1962 | synonym |
| Anommatophasma candidum Mees, 1962 Mees, 1962 | 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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=281913 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:6T244. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.