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Highfin snake eel

species of fish

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 13, 2023
Entity authorityQ2418143
Source-derived summary

The highfin snake eel (Ophichthus altipennis, also known as the blackfin snake eel or the black-finned snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856, originally under the genus Microdonophis. It is a marine, tropical eel known from the eastern Indian Ocean and northwestern and western central Pacific Ocean, including Australia, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Japan, the Marshall Islands, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 40 m (0 to 131 ft), and forms burrows in soft inshore sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 103 cm (41 in).

Due to its wide distribution in the Pacific and lack of known threats, the IUCN redlist currently lists the highfin snake eel as "Least Concern".

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Highfin snake eel” as species of fish. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Highfin, snake and species.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1856—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Highfin, snake and species providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Highfin snake eel”, the useful work is to connect “species of fish” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

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 Aug 13, 2023. The linked authority identifier is Q2418143. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1856.

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 “Highfin snake eel”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Highfin snake eel primary sources, Highfin snake eel archive and Highfin 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 “Highfin snake eel”?
  2. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
  3. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Highfin 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.