Conger is a genus of marine congrid eels. It includes some of the largest types of eels, ranging up to 2 m (6 ft) or more in length, in the case of the European conger. Large congers have often been observed by divers during the day in parts of the Mediterranean Sea, and both European and American congers are sometimes caught by fishermen along the European and North American Atlantic coasts.
The Congridae are the family of conger and garden eels. Congers are valuable and often large food fishes, while garden eels live in colonies, all protruding from the sea floor after the manner of plants in a garden. The family includes over 180 species in 32 genera.
Leptocephalus is a genus that was used for species of larval eels, called leptocephali, that were thought to be new fish species, or whose adult eel species were not known. Leptocephali differ so much in appearance from their adults that the larvae and adults of eels are not easily matched, and when first discovered, leptocephali were thought to be a distinct type of fishes, but not eels. Because of this, the genus designation of Leptocephalus was used for a while for unidentified leptocephali even after it was known that these were the larvae of eels thus becoming a "wastebasket taxon", but this practice is no longer used. Examples of marine congrid larvae, found in the western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea that were named this way are listed below. Only two species in two families are currently treated as having any validity, though the validity of L. bellottii is strongly in doubt.
Ariosoma is a genus of marine congrid eels.
Bathycongrus is a genus of eels in the family Congridae.
Bathymyrus is a genus of eels in the family Congridae. It currently contains the following species:
Macrocephenchelys is a genus of eels in the family Congridae.
Parabathymyrus is a genus of eels in the family Congridae.
Paraconger is a genus of eels in the family Congridae. It currently contains the following species:
Xenomystax is a genus of eels in the family Congridae. It currently contains the following species:
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.
Chiloconger philippinensis is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by David G. Smith and Emma Stanislavovna Karmovskaya in 2003. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the Philippines, in the western central Pacific Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 186–230 metres. Females can reach a total length of 19 centimetres.
Parabathymyrus brachyrhynchus is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Henry Weed Fowler in 1934, originally under the genus Ariosoma. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the western central Pacific Ocean. It dwells at a maximum depth of 289 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 33 centimetres.
The flapnose conger is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by David G. Smith and Robert H. Kanazawa in 1977. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from French Guiana, in the western central Atlantic Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth of 210 metres.
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 Toothy conger is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Henry Weed Fowler in 1934, originally under the genus Uranoconger. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the western Indian and southwestern Pacific Ocean, including the Philippines and Indonesia. It is known to dwell at a depth of 886 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 4.3 centimetres.
Bathycongrus polyporus 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 Straits of Florida and the northern coast of Cuba, in the western central Atlantic Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 439–549 meters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 43 centimeters.
Bathyuroconger parvibranchialis is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Henry Weed Fowler in 1934, originally under the genus Silvesterina. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the western central Pacific Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth of 1023 metres.
The large-toothed conger is an eel belonging to the family Congridae. It was described by Léon Vaillant in 1888, originally as a species of the genus Uroconger.
The Frillgill conger is an eel in the family Congridae, and the type species in the genus Blachea. It was described by Christine Karrer and David G. Smith in 1980. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from northwestern Australia, in the Indo-West Pacific. It dwells at a depth range of 348–385 metres, and leads a benthic lifestyle, inhabiting continental shelves and slopes. Males can reach a maximum total length of 47.5 centimetres, while females can reach a maximum TL of 37.5 cm.
