Abyssobrotula galatheae Nielsen, 1977
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
Abyssobrotula galatheae is a species of cusk eel in the family Ophidiidae. It is the deepest-living fish known; one specimen, trawled from a depth of 8,370 m (27,460 ft) in the Puerto Rico Trench in 1970, holds the record for the deepest fish ever captured. Although generally recognized, some have suggested that the record-breaking individual might have been caught with a non-closing net (a net that is open on the way up and down into the deep) and therefore perhaps caught shallower.
The first examples of this fish were misidentified by Staiger as Bassogigas profundissimus, before being described as a new species by Jørgen G. Nielsen in 1977. The species name refers to the research ship HDMS Galathea, which captured the first specimens during the second Galathea expedition.
Wikipedia contributors, Abyssobrotula galatheae; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T18:55:38.034861+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Abyssobrotula galatheae Nielsen, 1977
- Name authority
- Nielsen, 1977
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Ophidiiformes
- Family
- Ophidiidae
- Genus
- Abyssobrotula
- 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
- familyOphidiidae Rafinesque, 1810
- subfamilyNeobythitinae Radcliffe, 1913
- genusAbyssobrotula Nielsen, 1977
- speciesAbyssobrotula galatheae Nielsen, 1977
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.
- Nielsen, J. G. (1977). The deepest living fish Abyssobrotula galatheae. A new genus and species of oviparous ophidioids (Pisces, Brotulidae). Galathea Report, 14: 41–48. 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:8NGK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.