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Antillian snake eel

species of fish

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 8, 2021
Entity authorityQ2076878 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Antillian snake eel (Ophichthus spinicauda, also known commonly as the spinefin snake eel or the banded snake eel) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by John Roxborough Norman in 1922. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the western central Atlantic Ocean, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago, and Venezuela. It is known to dwell at a maximum depth of 300 meters, and inhabits coastal waters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 107 centimeters, but more commonly reach a TL of 70 cm.

The Antillian snake eel is of minor commercial interest to fisheries.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Antillian snake eel” as species of fish. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewUseful for establishing the present vocabulary of the subject while preserving a route back to the evidence on which that vocabulary rests. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1922—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Antillian, snake and species can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of fish. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 8, 2021. The linked authority identifier is Q2076878. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1922.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Antillian snake eel”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Antillian snake eel primary sources, Antillian snake eel archive and Antillian research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Antillian snake eel”?
  2. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
  3. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Antillian snake eel” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.