The Anguillidae are a family of ray-finned fish that contains the freshwater eels. Eighteen of the 19 extant species and six subspecies in this family are in the genus Anguilla, and all are elongated fish of snake-like bodies, with long dorsal, caudal and anal fins forming a continuous fringe. They are catadromous, spending their adult lives in freshwater, but migrating to the ocean to spawn.
The New Zealand longfin eel, also known as ōrea, is a species of freshwater eel that is endemic to New Zealand. It is the largest freshwater eel in New Zealand and the only endemic species – the other eels found in New Zealand are the native shortfin eel, also found in Australia, and the naturally introduced Australian longfin eel. Longfin eels are long-lived, migrating to the Pacific Ocean near Tonga to breed at the end of their lives. They are good climbers as juveniles and so are found in streams and lakes a long way inland. An important traditional food source for Māori, who name them ōrea, longfin eel numbers are declining and they are classified as endangered, but over one hundred tonnes are still commercially fished each year.
The speckled longfin eel, Australian long-finned eel or marbled eel is one of 15 species of eel in the family Anguillidae. It has a long snake-like cylindrical body with its dorsal, tail and anal fins joined to form one long fin. It usually has a brownish green or olive green back and sides with small darker spots or blotches all over its body. Its underside is paler. It has a small gill opening on each side of its wide head, with thick lips. It is Australia's largest freshwater eel, and the female usually grows much larger than the male. It is also known as the spotted eel.
Anguilla bengalensis bengalensis, the Indian mottled eel, is a subspecies of eel in the genus Anguilla of the family Anguillidae. It is found throughout the Indian subcontinent and neighbouring regions including the East Indies.
Anguilla bengalensis labiata, the African mottled eel, is a subspecies of eel in the genus Anguilla of the family Anguillidae.
Anguilla bicolor is a species of eel in the genus Anguilla of the family Anguillidae, consisting of two subspecies.
The Japanese eel is a species of anguillid eel found in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam, as well as the northern Philippines. There are three main species under the Anguilla genus, and all three share very similar characteristics. These species are so similar that it is believed that they spawned from the same species and then experienced a separation due to different environments in the ocean. Like all the eels of the genus Anguilla and the family Anguillidae, it is catadromous, meaning it spawns in the sea but lives parts of its life in freshwater. Raised in aquaculture ponds in most countries, the Japanese eel makes up 95% of the commercially sold eel in Japan, the other 5% is shipped over by air to the country from Europe. This food in Japan is called unagi; they are an essential part of the food culture, with many restaurants serving grilled eel called kabayaki. However, presumably due to a combination of overfishing and habitat loss or changing water conditions in the ocean interfering with spawning and the transport of their leptocephali this species is critically endangered.
The giant mottled eel, also known as the marbled eel, is a species of tropical anguillid eel that is found in the Indo-Pacific and adjacent freshwater habitats.
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 and are usually predators.
Gymnothorax rueppelliae, the banded moray, banded reef-eel, Rüppell's moray, Rüppell's moray eel, black barred eel, yellow-headed moray eel or yellow-headed moray, is a moray eel found in tropical coral reefs. Gymnothorax rueppelliae is a pale grey to greyish-brown moray with 16-21 dark bars on the body, a bright yellow head and a dark spot at the corner of the mouth. They differ from the Gymnothorax pikei, a close relative that lives Papua New Guinea. They have fewer vomerine teeth. They also reach a maximum length of 80 cm.
The Celebes longfin eel is an eel in the family Anguillidae. It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856. It is a tropical eel known from freshwaters in the Western Pacific, including Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, and Western and American Samoa. The eels spend most of their lives in freshwater but migrate to the ocean to breed. Males can reach a maximum total length of 150 centimetres.
The Highlands long-finned eel is an eel in the family Anguillidae. It was described by Gilbert Percy Whitley in 1938. It is a tropical eel known from freshwaters in eastern New Guinea. The eels spend most of their lives in freshwater but migrate to the ocean to breed. Males can reach a maximum total length of 80 centimetres.
The Philippine mottled eel is an eel in the family Anguillidae. It was described by Shun Watanabe, Jun Aoyama, and Katsumi Tsukamoto in 2009. It is a tropical eel known from the Pinacanauan River system on Luzon Island, in the Philippines. The eels spend most of their lives in freshwater but migrate to the ocean to breed.
The Polynesian longfinned eel, also known as the Pacific long-finned eel, is an eel in the family Anguillidae. It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856. It is a tropical eel found in freshwaters in the Pacific, including Sulawesi, Indonesia; the Society Islands, and Pitcairn. The eels spend most of their lives in freshwater, but migrate to the ocean to breed. Males can reach a maximum total length of 100 centimetres, while females can reach a maximum TL of 165 centimetres and a maximum weight of 9,000 grams.
The African longfin eel, also known simply as the longfin eel, is an eel in the family Anguillidae. It was described by Wilhelm Peters in 1852, originally under the genus Muraena. It is a tropical eel known from freshwaters in southern Kenya, Cape Agulhas, Madagascar, and New Caledonia. The eels spend most of their lives in freshwaters far inland, but migrate to the Western Indian Ocean to breed. Males can reach a maximum total length of 150 centimetres; females can reach a maximum standard length of 120 centimetres and a maximum weight of 5,000 grams. The eels can live for about 20 years. Juveniles and adults are known to feed off of carcasses, crabs, and bony fish.
The mottled eel, also known as the African mottled eel, the Indian longfin eel, the Indian mottled eel, the long-finned eel or the river eel, is a demersal, catadromous eel in the family Anguillidae. It was described by John McClelland in 1844. It is a tropical, freshwater eel which is known from East Africa, Bangladesh, Andaman Islands, Mozambique, Malawi, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, and Indonesia and recently from Madagascar. The eels spend most of their lives in freshwater at a depth range of 3–10 metres, but migrate to the Indian Ocean to breed. Males can reach a maximum total length of 121 centimetres and a maximum weight of 7,000 grams. The eels feed primarily off of benthic crustaceans, mollusks, finfish and worms.
The Pacific shortfinned eel, also known as the Pacific shortfinned freshwater eel, the short-finned eel, and the South Pacific eel, is an eel in the family Anguillidae. It was described by Albert Günther in 1871. It is a tropical, freshwater eel which is known from western New Guinea, Queensland, Australia, the Society Islands, and possibly South Africa. The eels spend most of their lives in freshwater, but migrate to the Pacific Ocean to breed. Males can reach a maximum total length of 110 centimetres, but more commonly reach a TL of around 60 cm. The Pacific shortfinned eel is most similar to Anguilla australis, and Anguilla bicolor, but can be distinguished by the number of vertebrae.
The Oriental worm-eel, also known as the Oriental snake eel, the Oriental sand-eel or the finny sand-eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John McClelland in 1844, originally under the genus Dalophis. It is a tropical, marine and freshwater-dwelling eel which is known from the Indo-Western Pacific, including Somalia, South Africa, India, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Oman, Palau, New Caledonia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, and Vanuatu. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 3 metres, and forms burrows in sand and mud sediments in estuaries, rivers, and inshore turbid waters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 36 centimetres (14 in), but more commonly reach a TL of 25 centimetres (9.8 in).
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, and forms burrows in soft inshore sand sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 103 cm.
