The American eel is a facultative catadromous fish found on the eastern coast of North America. Freshwater eels are fish belonging to the elopomorph superorder, a group of phylogenetically ancient teleosts. The American eel has a slender, snake-like body that is covered with a mucus layer, which makes the eel appear to be naked and slimy despite the presence of minute scales. A long dorsal fin runs from the middle of the back and is continuous with a similar ventral fin. Pelvic fins are absent, and relatively small pectoral fins can be found near the midline, followed by the head and gill covers. Variations exist in coloration, from olive green, brown shading to greenish-yellow and light gray or white on the belly. Eels from clear water are often lighter than those from dark, tannic acid streams.
The goatfishes are perciform fish of the family Mullidae. The family is also sometimes referred to as the red mullets, which also refers more narrowly to the genus Mullus.
Halosaurs are eel-shaped fishes found only at great ocean depths. As the family Halosauridae, halosaurs are one of two families within the order Notacanthiformes; the other being the deep-sea spiny eels, Notacanthidae. Halosaurs are thought to have a worldwide distribution, with some 17 species in three genera represented. Only a handful of specimens have been observed alive, all in chance encounters with Remotely operated underwater vehicles.
Fish locomotion is the various types of animal locomotion used by fish, principally by swimming. This is achieved in different groups of fish by a variety of mechanisms of propulsion, most often by wave-like lateral flexions of the fish's body and tail in water, and in various specialised fish by motions of the fins. The major forms of locomotion in fish are:
The pelican eel is a deep-sea eel. It is the only known member of the genus Eurypharynx and the family Eurypharyngidae. It belongs to the "saccopharyngiforms", members of which were historically placed in their own order, but are now considered true eels in the order Anguilliformes. The pelican eel has been described by many synonyms, yet nobody has been able to demonstrate that more than one species of pelican eel exists. It is also referred to as the gulper eel, pelican gulper, and umbrella-mouth gulper. The specific epithet pelecanoides refers to the pelican, as the fish's large mouth is reminiscent to that of the pelican.
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. They are elongated fish with snake-like bodies, their long dorsal, caudal and anal fins forming a continuous fringe. They are catadromous fish, spending their adult lives in freshwater, but migrating to the ocean to spawn. Eels are an important food fish and some species are now farm-raised, but not bred in captivity. Many populations in the wild are now threatened, and Seafood Watch recommend consumers avoid eating anguillid eels.
Pelagic fish live in the pelagic zone of ocean or lake waters – being neither close to the bottom nor near the shore – in contrast with demersal fish that do live on or near the bottom, and reef fish that are associated with coral reefs.
Demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of seas or lakes. They occupy the sea floors and lake beds, which usually consist of mud, sand, gravel or rocks. In coastal waters they are found on or near the continental shelf, and in deep waters they are found on or near the continental slope or along the continental rise. They are not generally found in the deepest waters, such as abyssal depths or on the abyssal plain, but they can be found around seamounts and islands. The word demersal comes from the Latin demergere, which means to sink.
The grey cutthroat eel, Synaphobranchus affinis, is a cutthroat eel. It was originally described by Albert Günther in 1877. It lives a benthic lifestyle, inhabiting the continental slope and global deep waters including near Portugal, Canary Islands, Morocco, Japan, Australia, and others. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which has been found at depths ranging from 300 to 2300 meters and at temperatures ranging from 3.3 - 11.3° C. Males can grow to a length of up to 110 centimeters. It is primarily a scavenger, however it also actively hunts small fish and crustaceans.
The sea toads and coffinfishes are a family of deep-sea anglerfishes known as the Chaunacidae.
The European conger is a species of conger of the family Congridae. It is the heaviest eel in the world and native to the northeast Atlantic, including the Mediterranean Sea.
The Japanese whiting, Sillago japonica, is a common species of coastal marine fish belonging to the smelt-whiting family, Sillaginidae. As suggested by its name, the Japanese whiting was first recorded from Japan in 1843, but has subsequently been found to extend to Korea, China and Taiwan.
The yellowtail trumpeter, Amniataba caudavittata, is a common species of coastal marine fish of the grunter family, Terapontidae. The yellowtail trumpeter is native to Australia and Papua New Guinea, ranging from Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia along the north coast to Bowen, Queensland, and along the southern coast of Papua New Guinea.
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 Gilbert's garden eel, also known as the Gilbert's conger and the sharpnose conger, is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by James Douglas Ogilby in 1898, originally under the genus Congrellus. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including the Gulf of California, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Colombia. It is a benthic and nocturnal species, and inhabits sand flats in reefs, bays and coves at a depth range of 1–100 metres. It burrows into sand during the day and emerges to forage during the night. Males can reach a maximum total length of 27 centimetres.
The Bullish conger is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by David G. Smith and Robert H. Kanazawa in 1977, originally under the genus Rhechias. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the Gulf of Mexico to the Amazon, in the western Atlantic Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 366–475 meters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 39.5 centimeters.
The shorthead conger is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Charles Henry Gilbert in 1891, originally under the genus Ophisoma. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the Gulf of California to Panama, in the eastern central Pacific Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 265–590 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 25 centimetres.
Bathycongrus trimaculatus is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Emma Stanislavovna Karmovskaya and David G. Smith in 2008. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the southwestern Pacific Ocean, including Fiji, New Caledonia, and the Solomon Islands. It dwells at a depth range of 357–550 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 16.1 centimetres.
The coffinfish is a species of sea toad of the family Chaunacidae, which consists of 17 species. It is found in salty temperate waters of southwestern Pacific, off east coast of Australia. The coffinfish was first discovered around February 1997 in Sicily, Italy by the skipper of the Libra, which was a trawler who was harbored in Mazara at the time. It can be also found in depths of 164–984.3 ft (50.0–300.0 m). Deep sea crab fishermen off the east coast of Florida pull them up from depth ranging from 5,000-8,000 feet about 54–68 miles off the coast. They have a globose and spiny body that grows to a maximum length of 22.0 cm (8.7 in) and a black mouth lining and an illicium on the snout that can be lowered into a groove.
The Bean's sawtooth eel is an eel in the family Nemichthyidae. It was described by Theodore Gill and John Adam Ryder in 1883. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from throughout the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Western Pacific Ocean, including Iceland, South Africa, Réunion, and Australia. It dwells at a depth range of 0–5998 metres, and leads a solitary lifestyle. It migrates vertically at night. Males can reach a maximum total length of 78-80 centimetres, making it the largest sawtooth eel.
