freckleface reef-eel
Uropterygius xanthopterus Bleeker, 1859
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
Uropterygius xanthopterus is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans. It is commonly known as the freckleface reef-eel, spottedface moray, or the white-speckled snake moray.
Wikipedia contributors, Uropterygius xanthopterus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:46:51.115509+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Uropterygius xanthopterus Bleeker, 1859
- Name authority
- Bleeker, 1859
- Common name
- freckleface reef-eel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Muraenidae
- Genus
- Uropterygius
- 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
- familyMuraenidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyUropterygiinae Fowler, 1925
- genusUropterygius Rüppell, 1838
- speciesUropterygius xanthopterus Bleeker, 1859
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Uropterygius. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| peppered morayUropterygius polystictus Myers & Wade, 1941 | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| marbled morayUropterygius macularius (Lesueur, 1825) | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| crafty morayUropterygius versutus Bussing, 1991 | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Uropterygius marmoratus (Lacepède, 1803) | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Uropterygius golanii McCosker & Smith, 1997 | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| barlip reef-eelUropterygius kamar McCosker & Randall, 1977 | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Uropterygius polyspilus (Regan, 1909) | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Uropterygius micropterus (Bleeker, 1852) | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Uropterygius wheeleri Blache, 1967 | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Uropterygius cyamommatus Huang, Liao & Tan, 2023 | MuraenidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Uropterygius xanthropterus Bleeker, 1859 Bleeker, 1859 | synonym |
| Uropterygius alboguttatus Smith, 1962 Smith, 1962 | synonym |
| Uropteryginus xanthopterus Bleeker, 1859 Bleeker, 1859 | 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.
- Bleeker, P. (1859). Over eenige vischsoorten van de zuidkust-wateren van Java. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift Voor Nederlandsch Indië, v. 19: 329–352. 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:7DYXX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.