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Finny snake eel

species of fish

Specimen drawers, botanical folios and brass scientific instruments under study light
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionNov 11, 2024
Entity authorityQ2230403 ↗
Source-derived summary

The finny snake eel (Caecula pterygera) is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by Martin Vahl in 1794. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indian Ocean, including southern India. It is known to inhabit inshore areas of turbid waters and estuaries, though not specifically for breeding purposes. Males can reach a maximum total length of 30 centimetres, but more commonly reach a TL of 20 cm.

The finny snake eel is marketed fresh, and used primarily for fishing bait.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Finny 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—1794—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Finny, 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 Nov 11, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q2230403. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1794.

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
Verify next

Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Finny snake eel”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Finny snake eel primary sources, Finny snake eel archive and Finny 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 “Finny snake eel”?
  2. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
  3. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Finny 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.