''Cirricaecula macdowelli'' is an

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

in the family

Ophichthidae Ophichthidae is a family of fish in the order Anguilliformes, commonly known as the snake eels. The term "Ophichthidae" comes from Greek ''ophis'' ("serpent") and ''ichthys'' ("fish"). Snake eels are also burrowing eels. They are named for thei ...

(worm/snake eels).''Cirricaecula macdowelli''
at www.fishbase.org. It was described by

John E. McCosker John Edward McCosker is an American ichthyologist and as has been part of expeditions to many countries such as Antarctic, Australia, and the Galapagos. After extensive study and ten expeditions he is one of the foremost experts on the Galapago ...

and

John Ernest Randall John Ernest "Jack" Randall (May 22, 1924 – April 26, 2020) was an American ichthyologist and a leading authority on coral reef fishes. Randall described over 800 species and authored 11 books and over 900 scientific papers and popular articles. ...

in 1993.McCosker, J. E. and J. E. Randall, 1993 (15 Aug.) ef. 20826''Finless snake-eels of the genus Cirricaecula (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae), with the description of C. macdowelli from Taiwan.'' Japanese Journal of Ichthyology v. 40 (no. 2): 189-192. It is a subtropical,

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

eel which is known from

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

, in the northwestern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. Males can reach a maximum

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of 22.8 centimetres.

Etymology

The fish is named in honor of Michael McDowell, an Australian tour operator, who has taken the describers to remote outposts in search of rare specimens.

References

Ophichthidae Taxa named by John E. McCosker Taxa named by John Ernest Randall Fish described in 1993 {{Ophichthidae-stub