Eel
Eels Temporal range:
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Anguilla japonica
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Superorder: | Elopomorpha |
Order: | Anguilliformes L. S. Berg, 1943 |
Type genus | |
Anguilla | |
Suborders | |
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Eels are
The term "eel" is also used for some other eel-shaped fish, such as
Description
Eels are elongated fish, ranging in length from 5 cm (2 in) in the one-jawed eel (
Most eels live in the shallow waters of the
The heaviest true eel is the European conger. The maximum size of this species has been reported as reaching a length of 3 m (10 ft) and a weight of 110 kg (240 lb).[10] Other eels are longer, but do not weigh as much, such as the slender giant moray, which reaches 4 m (13 ft).[11]
Life cycle
Eels begin life as flat and transparent
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Eel eggs hatch firstly into the leptocephalus larval stage.
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Larval eels becomeglass eelsas they transition from the ocean to fresh water.
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As freshwater elvers, eels work their way upstream.
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Mature silver stage eels migrate back to the ocean to mate.
Classification
This article is part of a series on |
Commercial fish |
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Large pelagic |
Forage |
Demersal |
Mixed |
Several sets of classifications of eels exist; some, such as
Genomic studies indicate that there is a
Taxonomy
The earliest fossil eels are known from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Lebanon. These early eels retain primitive traits such as pelvic fins and thus do not appear to be closely related to any extant taxa. Body fossils of modern eels do not appear until the Eocene, although otoliths assignable to extant eel families and even some genera have been recovered from the Campanian and Maastrichtian, indicating some level of diversification among the extant groups prior to the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, which is also supported by phylogenetic divergence estimates. One of these otolith taxa, the mud-dwelling Pythonichthys arkansasensis, appears to have thrived in the aftermath of the K-Pg extinction, based on its abundance.[15][16][17]
Extant taxa
Taxonomy based on Nelson, Grande and Wilson 2016.[18]
- Suborder Protanguilloidei
- Family Protanguillidae
- Family
- Suborder Synaphobranchoidei
- Family Synaphobranchidae(cutthroat eels) [incl. Dysommidae, Nettodaridae, and Simenchelyidae]
- Family
- Suborder Muraenoidei
- Family Heterenchelyidae (mud eels)
- Family Myrocongridae(thin eels)
- Family Muraenidae (moray eels)
- Suborder Chlopsoidei
- Family Chlopsidae (false morays)
- Suborder Congroidei
- Family Colocongridae(froghead eels, short tail eels)
- Family Congridae (congers) [incl. Macrocephenchelyidae]
- Subfamily Heterocongrinae (garden eels)
- Family Derichthyidae(longneck eels) [incl. Nessorhamphidae]
- Family Muraenesocidae (pike congers)
- Family Nettastomatidae (duckbill eels)
- Family Ophichthidae (snake eels)
- Family
- Suborder Moringuoidei
- Family Moringuidae (spaghetti eels)
- Suborder Saccopharyngoidei
- Family Eurypharyngidae(pelican eels, umbrellamouth gulpers)
- Family Saccopharyngidae
- Family Monognathidae(onejaw gulpers)
- Family Cyematidae(bobtail snipe eels)
- Family
- Suborder Anguilloidei
- Family Anguillidae (freshwater eels)
- Family Nemichthyidae(snipe eels)
- Family Serrivomeridae(sawtooth eels)
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Anguilla anguilla, an Anguillidae
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Kaupichthys nuchalis, a Chlopsidae
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Colocongridae
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Muraenesox cinereus, a Muraenesocidae
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Muraenidae
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ANemichthyidae
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Myrichthys ocellatus, an Ophichthidae
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Serrivomeridae
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ASynaphobranchidae
In some classifications, the family
The
Phylogeny
Phylogeny based on Johnson et al. 2012.[19]
Anguilliformes |
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Extinct taxa
Based on the Paleobiology Database:[20][21]
- Genus †Abisaadia
- Genus †Bolcanguilla
- Genus †Eomuraena
- Genus †Eomyrophis
- Genus †Gazolapodus
- Genus †Hayenchelys
- Genus †Luenchelys
- Genus †Mastygocercus
- Genus †Micromyrus
- Genus †Mylomyrus
- Genus †Palaeomyrus
- Genus †Parechelus
- Genus †Proserrivomer
- Family †Anguillavidae
- Family †Anguilloididae
- Family †Libanechelyidae
- Family †Milananguillidae
- Family †Paranguillidae
- Family †Patavichthyidae
- Family †Proteomyridae
- Family †Urenchelyidae
Commercial species
Main commercial species | ||||||||||
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Common name | Scientific name | Maximum length |
Common length |
Maximum weight |
Maximum age |
Trophic level |
FishBase | FAO
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ITIS
|
IUCN status
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American eel | Anguilla rostrata (Lesueur, 1817) | 152 cm | 50 cm | 7.33 kg | 43 years | 3.7 | [22] | [23] | Endangered[24] | |
European eel | Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758) | 150 cm | 35 cm | 6.6 kg | 88 years | 3.5 | [25] | [26] | [27] | Critically endangered[28] |
Japanese eel | Anguilla japonica Temminck & Schlegel, 1846 | 150 cm | 40 cm | 1.89 kg | 3.6 | [29] | [30] | [31] | Endangered[32] | |
Short-finned eel | Anguilla australis Richardson, 1841 | 130 cm | 45 cm | 7.48 kg | 32 years | 4.1 | [33] | [34] | Near Threatened[35] |
Use by humans
Freshwater eels (
Elvers, often fried, were once a cheap dish in the United Kingdom. During the 1990s, their numbers collapsed across Europe.[40] They became a delicacy, and the UK's most expensive species.[41]
Eels, particularly the moray eel, are popular among marine aquarists.
Eel blood is toxic to humans
Eelskin leather is highly prized. It is very smooth and exceptionally strong. It does not actually come from eels, but rather from the
High consumption of eels is seen in European countries leading to those eel species being considered endangered.
In culture
The large lake of Almere, which existed in the early Medieval Netherlands, got its name from the eels which lived in its water (the Dutch word for eel is aal or ael, so: "ael mere" = "eel lake"). The name is preserved in the new city of Almere in Flevoland, given in 1984 in memory of this body of water on whose site the town is located.
The daylight passage in the spring of
A famous attraction on the French Polynesian island of Huahine (part of the Society Islands) is the bridge across a stream hosting three- to six-foot-long eels, deemed sacred by local culture.
Eel fishing in
Sinister implications of eels fishing are also referenced in Jo Nesbø's Cockroaches, the second book of the Harry Hole detective series. The book's background includes a Norwegian village where eels in the nearby sea are rumored to feed on the corpses of drowned humans, making the eating of these eels verge on cannibalism.
Sustainable consumption
In 2010, Greenpeace International added the European eel, Japanese eel, and American eel to its seafood red list.[49] Japan consumes more than 70% of the global eel catch.[50]
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Eel fishing boat in France
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Special boats to transport live eels Comacchio
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Eel trap in Denmark around 1900
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Gerookte paling (Dutch for smoked eel)
Etymology
The English name "eel" descends from
According to this theory, the name
Timeline of genera
Timeline |
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See also
References
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2009). "Anguilliformes" in FishBase. January 2009 version.
- ^ Pl. 661 in Garsault, F. A. P. de 1764. Les figures des plantes et animaux d'usage en medecine, décrits dans la Matiere Medicale de Mr. Geoffroy medecin, dessinés d'après nature par Mr. de Gasault, gravés par Mrs. Defehrt, Prevost, Duflos, Martinet &c. Niquet scrip. [5]. - pp. [1-4], index [1-20], Pl. 644–729. Paris.
- ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Anguilliformes". www.marinespecies.org.
- ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Saccopharyngiformes". www.marinespecies.org.
- S2CID 204150660– via www.publish.csiro.au.
- ^ "Family OPHICHTHIDAE" (PDF).
- ^ ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- ^ Long Jr, J. H., Shepherd, W., & Root, R. G. (Loot). Manueuverability and reversible propulsion: How eel-like fish swim forward and backward using travelling body waves". In: Proc. Special Session on Bio-Engineering Research Related to Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, 10th Int. Symp. (pp. 118–134).
- ISBN 978-0-06-056611-1.
- ^ Conger conger, European conger: fisheries, gamefish, aquarium. Fishbase.org
- ^ FishBase Archived 10 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine. FishBase (15 November 2011).
- PMC 7553983.
- ^ a b Campbell, Lady Colin (1886). A Book of the Running Brook: and of Still Waters. New York: O. Judd Co. pp. 9, 18.
- PMID 20053660.
- PMID 27514517.
- .
- ISSN 0195-6671.
- ISBN 9781118342336.
- PMID 21849321.
- ^ "PBDB". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- PMID 27514517.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2012). "Anguilla rostrata" in FishBase. May 2012 version.
- ^ "Anguilla rostrata". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2012). "Anguilla anguilla" in FishBase. May 2012 version.
- ^ Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758) FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- ^ "Anguilla anguilla". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2012). "Anguilla japonica" in FishBase. May 2012 version.
- ^ Anguilla japonica, Temminck & Schlegel, 1846 FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved May 2012.
- ^ "Anguilla japonica". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- . Retrieved 4 January 2018.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2012). "Anguilla australis" in FishBase. May 2012 version.
- ^ "Anguilla australis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Swamp Eels". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ Bhuyan, Avantika (30 March 2018). "The little fish in big rivers". The Live Mint. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ Acou, Anthony, et al. "Assessment of the Quality of European Silver Eels and Tentative Approach to Trace the Origin of Contaminants – A European Overview." The science of the total environment. 743 (2020): n. pag. Web.
- ^ "Buber's Basque Page: Angulas".
- ^ Champken, Neil (2 June 2006). "Would you pay £600 for a handful of baby eels?". theguardian.com. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ Leake, Jonathan (7 February 2015). "EU's eel edict costs UK £100m". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ "Poison in the Blood of the Eel" (PDF). 9 April 1899. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ^ "The plight of the eel (mentions that "Only 0.1 ml/kg is enough to kill small mammals, such as a rabbit..." BBC online. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ^ "Blood serum of the eel." M. Sato. Nippon Biseibutsugakukai Zasshi (1917), 5 (No. 35), From: Abstracts Bact. 1, 474 (1917)
- ^ "Hemolytic and toxic properties of certain serums." Wm. J. Keffer, Albert E. Welsh. Mendel Bulletin (1936), 8 76–80.
- ^ "Charles Robert Richet". encyclopedia.com.
- ^ snopes (4 December 2015). "Eelskin Demagnitizes : snopes.com". Snopes. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
- ^ Barss, William (1993), "Pacific hagfish, Eptatretus stouti, and black hagfish, E. deani: the Oregon Fishery and Port sampling observations, 1988–92", Marine Fisheries Review (Fall, 1993), archived from the original on 7 March 2012, retrieved 21 April 2010
- ^ "Greenpeace Seafood Red list". Greenpeace International.
- ^ "Indonesia eel hot item for smugglers". The Japan Times. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- ISBN 3-85124-667-5.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ISBN 978-1-4822-5516-4.
- ISBN 978-1-57806-246-1.
Further references
- Tesch FW and White RJ (2008). The Eel. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781405173438.
- Patrik Svensson (2019). The Book of Eels, English translation (2020) by Agnes Broomé, published by ecco, ISBN 9780062968814.
External links
- Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Anguilliformes" in FishBase. January 2006 version.
- "Anguilliformes". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
.
- "The Natural History of the Eel", historical aspect, Scientific American, 10 August 1878, Vol. 39, No. 6, p. 79