Anarchias exulatus Reece, Smith & Holm, 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
Anarchias exulatus is an eel in the family Muraenidae (moray eels). It was described by Joshua S. Reece, David G. Smith, and Erling Holm in 2010. It is a subtropical, marine eel which is known from the Hawaiian Islands, Johnston Atoll, Rapa, Gambier, Pitcairn Island, and the Tonga Islands. It is an uncommon species which dwells in coral reefs and rocky regions near shores, and has been reported at a depth of 12 metres. Males are known to reach a maximum total length of 29.3 centimetres.
The species epithet "exulatus" means "exiled/banished" in Latin, referring to the species' restriction to outskirts of the faunal region in the Indo-West Pacific.
Wikipedia contributors, Anarchias exulatus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:00:33.876103+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Anarchias exulatus Reece, Smith & Holm, 2010
- Name authority
- Reece, Smith & Holm, 2010
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Muraenidae
- Genus
- Anarchias
- 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
- genusAnarchias Jordan & Starks, 1906
- speciesAnarchias exulatus Reece, Smith & Holm, 2010
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Anarchias. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Anarchias euryurus (Lea, 1913) | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Anarchias cantonensis (Schultz, 1943) | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| pygmy morayAnarchias similis (Lea, 1913) | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Anarchias supremus McCosker & Stewart, 2006 | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Anarchias allardicei Jordan & Starks, 1906 | MuraenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Seychelles morayAnarchias seychellensis Smith, 1962 | MuraenidaeChordata | 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.
- Reece, J. S., Smith, D. G., & Holm, E. (2010). The moray eels of the Anarchias cantonensis group (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae), with description of two new species. Copeia, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1643/ci-09-189 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:DG8F. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.