Anguilla anguilla

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Family Anguillidae

Usually catadromous fishes in tropical and temperate waters , except eastern Pacific and south Atlantic. Eellike body with minute or embedded scales . Well developed pectorals but no pelvic fins; dorsal and caudal fin confluent with anal fin. All species are important food fishes and are sold fresh, smoked, or canned. Important aquaculture species based on captured juveniles (elvers ); widely introduced . All spend their juvenile and adult live in freshwater , returning to the ocean to spawn and die. The leptocephalus larvae are marine . There is some doubt as to the validity of some of the fifteen species currently recognized.The family Anguillidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Anguilliformes. It contains 1 genus and 15 species. It may be found in Marine, Brackish , and Freshwater environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is anguilliform . Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the upper Miocene epoch of the Tertiary period. This family may be found from 70° n to 48° s and 107° w to 178° e. Etymology of this family name : Latin, anguilla, ae = eel

Physical Description

Habitat

They live on the bottom , under stones , in the mud or in crevices.

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 1,099 meters (0 to 3,606 feet).Mean = 64.460 meters (211.483 feet), Standard Deviation = 111.530 based on 19,690 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Biome: Fresh water , brackish water, saltwater . Demersal .

Biology

Reproduction

Amphihaline species (Ref. 51442), which migrates to the depths of the Sargasso Sea to spawn (Ref. 172, Ref. 51442). Spawning takes place in late winter and spring in the Sargasso Sea (Ref. 35112). The leptocephali larvae are brought to the coasts of Europe by the Gulf Stream in 7 to 11 months time (Ref. 51442) and can last for up to 3 years (Ref. 8994). They are transformed into elvers , enter the estuaries and colonize the continental waters (Ref. 51442). They evolve into small eels before moving into freshwater basins (Ref. 11941). Young eels spend their growing period in freshwater, males for 6-12 years, females for 9-20 years, before ending their metamorphosis (Ref. 172, Ref. 51442). At the end of their growth period , they become sexually mature and the eels migrate to the sea where they inhabit deep waters . Adults do not feed during migration to sea. Gametogenesis occurs entirely during migration towards the Sargasso Sea. It occurs at temperatures ranging from 0-30¦C. Is an individualist in all its stages. The 'schools' of elvers and young eels which are observed from time to time in estuaries and rivers are a mass response to outward conditions and not of active assembling. Its food includes virtually the whole aquatic fauna (freshwater as well as marine ) occurring in the eel's area, augmented with animals living out of water, e.g. worms (Ref. 172). At an age of 6-30 years, eels begin to undergo a remarkable series of changes, eyes are enlarged, head becomes pointed , skin on the back darker, while that on the belly becomes shiny and silvery. Best temperature for making eels sexually mature is 20-25¦C (Ref. 35388).

Migration

Catadromous .

Taxonomy

Ambiguous Synonyms

1. Anguilla anguilla macrocephala De la Pylaie, 1835
2. Anguilla fluviatilis Heckel & Kner, 1858
3. Anguilla marina Nardo, 1860
4. Anguilla septembrina Bonaparte, 1846
5. Anguilla vulgaris fluviatilis Rafinesque, 1810

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Angill angill (Linnaeus, 1758)
2. Anguilla Schank 1798
3. Anguilla Schrank, 1798
4. Anguilla acutirostris Risso, 1827
5. Anguilla aegyptiaca Kaup, 1856
6. Anguilla altirostris Kaup, 1856
7. Anguilla ancidda Kaup, 1856
8. Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758)
9. Anguilla anguilla (non Linnaeus, 1758)
10. Anguilla anguilla Linnaeus
11. Anguilla anguillia (Linnaeus, 1758)
12. Anguilla bibroni Kaup, 1856
13. Anguilla bicolor
14. Anguilla bicolor McClelland, 1844
15. Anguilla bicolor bicolor McClelland, 1844
16. Anguilla bicolor subsp. bicolor McClelland, 1844
17. Anguilla brevirostris Cisternas, 1877
18. Anguilla callensis Guichenot, 1850
19. Anguilla canariensis Valenciennes, 1843
20. Anguilla capitone Kaup, 1856
21. Anguilla cloacina Bonaparte, 1846
22. Anguilla cuvieri Kaup, 1856
23. Anguilla eurystoma Heckel & Kner, 1858
24. Anguilla fluviatilis Anslijin, 1828
25. Anguilla hibernica Couch, 1865
26. Anguilla kieneri Kaup, 1856
27. Anguilla latirostris Risso, 1827
28. Anguilla linnei Malm, 1877
29. Anguilla marginata Kaup, 1856
30. Anguilla marmolata Quoy & Gaimard, 1824
31. Anguilla marmorata Quoy and Gaimard, 1824
32. Anguilla mediorostris Risso, 1827
33. Anguilla melanochir Kaup, 1856
34. Anguilla microptera Kaup, 1856
35. Anguilla migratoria Kr�yer, 1846
36. Anguilla morena Kaup, 1856
37. Anguilla nilotica Heckel, 1846
38. Anguilla nilotica Kaup, 1857
39. Anguilla oblongirostris Blanchard, 1866
40. Anguilla platycephala Kaup, 1856
41. Anguilla platyrhynchus Costa, 1850
42. Anguilla savignyi Kaup, 1856
43. Anguilla vulgaris Shaw, 1803
44. Electrophorus electricus
45. Electrophorus electricus (Linnaeus, 1766)
46. Gymnotus electricus
47. Gymnotus electricus Linnaeus, 1766
48. Leptocephalus brevirostris Kaup, 1856
49. Muraena anguilla Linnaeus, 1758
50. Muraena anguilla subsp. maculata Chiereghini, 1872
51. Muraena oxyrhina Ekstr�m, 1831
52. Muraena platyrhina Ekstr�m, 1831
53. Ophichthus ramiger (Valenciennes, 1842)
54. Ophichthus remiger
55. Ophichthus remiger (Valenciennes, 1837)
56. Ophisurus remiger

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Data last modified by FishBase 25-Feb-1994

Similar Species

Members of the genus Anguilla

There are approximately 62 species in this genus:

A. aneitensis · A. anguilla (Common Eel) · A. anguilla macrocephala · A. anguilla ornithorhyncha · A. anguilla oxycephala · A. anguilla rostrata · A. aucklandii · A. australis (Eel) · A. australis australis (Australian Short-Finned Eel) · A. australis occidentalis · A. australis schmidti · A. bengalensis (African Mottled Eel) · A. bengalensis bengalensis (European Eel) · A. bengalensis labiata (African Mottled Eel) · A. bicolor (Amalona) · A. bicolor bicolor (Amalona) · A. bicolor pacifica (Indian Short-Finned Eel) · A. bostoniensis · A. breviceps · A. celebesensis (Celebes Longfin Eel) · A. chrisypa · A. chryspa · A. chrysypa · A. dieffenbachii (Longfinned Eel) · A. fidjiensis · A. anguilla · A. interioris (Highlands Long-Finned Eel) · A. japonica (Eel) · A. japonicus · A. labrosa · A. leptocephali · A. macrops · A. malgumora (Indonesian Longfinned Eel) · A. manabei · A. anguilla · A. marmorata (Giant Long-Finned Eel) · A. bicolor subsp. bicolor · A. megastoma (Pacific Long-Finned Eel) · A. mossambica (African Longfin Eel) · A. mossambicus · A. nebulosa (African Mottled Eel) · A. nebulosa elver · A. nebulosa labiata · A. nebulosa nebulosa · A. nigricans · A. obscura (Brown Eel) · A. otahaitensis · A. otaheitensis · A. pekinensis · A. reinhardtii (Australian Longfinned Eel) · A. rostata · A. rostrada · A. rostrata (American Eel) · A. anguilla · A. sidat · A. texana · A. tyrannus · A. vulgaris fluviatilis · A. vulgaris lacustus · A. vulgaris marina · A. vulgaris ornithorhincha · A. vulgaris platyura

Bibliography

• Anon. (1999). Systematic list of Estonian fishes. World Wide Web Electronic Publication, 14 January 2000.
• Bauchot, M.-L. (1986). Anguillidae. p. 535-536. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. volume 2. UNESCO, Paris.
• Blanc, M., J.L. Gaudet, P. Banarescu and J.C. Hureau (1971). European inland water fish: a multilingual catalogue. Fishing News (Books) Ltd. London.
• Brito, A. (1991). Catalogo de los pesces de las Islas Canarias. Francisco Lemus, la Laguna. 230 p.
• Castle, P.H.J. (1984). Anguillidae. p. 34-37. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ORSTOM, Paris and MRAC, Tervuren. Vol. 1.
• Coad, B.W. (1995). Freshwater fishes of Iran. Acta Sci. Nat. Acad. Sci. Brno. 29(1):1-64.
• Deelder, C.L. (1984). Synopsis of biological data on the eel, Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758). FAO Fish. Synop. (80, Rev. 1):73 p.
• Dekker, W, van Os B. and van Willigen J. (1998). Minimal and maximal size of eel. L'ANGUILLE EUROPEENNE. 10E REUNION DU GROUPE DE TRAVAIL "ANGUILLE" EIFAC/ICES.Bulletin Francais de Peche et Pecherie, Conseil superieur de la peche, Paris (France), 1998
• Eschmeyer, William N., ed. 1998. Catalog of Fishes. Special Publication of the Center for Biodiversity Research and Information, no. 1, vol 1-3. California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco, California, USA. 2905. ISBN: 0-940228-47-5.
• Flower, S.S. (1935). Further notes on the duration of life in animals. I. Fishes: as determined by otolith and scale-readings and direct observations on living individuals. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 2:265-304.
• Food and Agriculture Organization (1992). FAO yearbook 1990. Fishery statistics. Catches and landings. FAO Fish. Ser. (38). FAO Stat. Ser. 70:(105):647 p.
• Garibaldi, L. (1996). List of animal species used in aquaculture. FAO Fish. Circ. 914. 38 p.
• International Game Fish Association (1991). World record game fishes. International Game Fish Association, Florida, USA.
• Jonsson, G. (1992). Islenskir fiskar. Fiolvi, Reykjavik, 568 pp.
• Keith, P., J. Allardi and B. Moutou (1992). Livre rouge des espèces menacées de poissons d'eau douce de France et bilan des introductions. Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Secretariat de la Faune et de la Flore, Conseil Supérieur de la Peche, CEM
• Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae secundum Classes, Ordinus, Genera, Species cum Characteribus, Differentiis Synonymis, Locis. 10th ed., Vol. 1. Holmiae Salvii. 824 p.
• McCosker, J.E. (1989). Freshwater eels (Family Anguillidae) in California: current conditions and future scenarios. Calif. Fish and Game. 75(1):4-11.
• Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry of Communications and Tourism and The Danish Tourist Board. (1994). Angling in Denmark. Statens information 6/94. Litotryk København, Denmark. (Folder, 1 p.)
• Muus, B.J. and P. Dahlström (1968). Süßwasserfische. BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, München. 224 p.
• Reshetnikov, Y.S., N.G. Bogutskaya, E.D. Vasil'eva, E.A. Dorofeeva, A.M. Naseka, O.A. Popova, K.A. Savvaitova, V.G. Sideleva and L.I. Sokolov (1997). An annotated check-list of the freshwater fishes of Russia. J. Ichthyol. 37(9):687-736.
• Shiino, Sueo M. 1976. List of Common Names of Fishes of the World, Those Prevailing among English-speaking Nations. Science Report of Shima Marineland, no. 4. Shima Marineland. Kashikojima, Shima, Mie, Japan. 262.
• Welcomme, R.L. (1988). International introductions of inland aquatic species. FAO Fish. Tech. Pap. 294. 318 p.
• Wheeler, A. (1992). A list of the common and scientific names of fishes of the British Isles. J. Fish Biol. 41(1):1-37.

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed April 20, 2007.
• FishBase 2006.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 24, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from provider.
• MBLWHOI Library: Universal Biological Index and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 18, 2008.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 11, 2007:

• Marine Science Institute, UCSB, Paleobiology Database
• Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, MCZ Fish Collection
• Royal Ontario Museum, Fish specimens
• UK National Biodiversity Network, Biological Records Centre - Database for the Atlas of Freshwater Fishes
• UK National Biodiversity Network, Scottish Borders Biological Records Centre - SWT Scottish Borders Local Wildlife Site Survey data 1996-2000 - species information
• University of Navarra, Museum of Zoology, Museum of Zoology, University of Navarra

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 894551
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Fis-22711
• Fishbase Species ID: 35
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13534758
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 161128
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 102118

Footnotes

©2004-2008 the BayScience Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.