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Leptocephalus is the flat and transparent larva of the eel, marine eels, and other members of the superorder Elopomorpha. This is one of the most diverse groups of teleosts, containing 801 species in 4 orders, 24 families, and 156 genera. This group is thought to have arisen in the Cretaceous period over 140 million years ago. Fishes with a leptocephalus larval stage include the most familiar eels such as the conger, moray eel, and garden eel as well as members of the family Anguillidae, plus more than 10 other families of lesser-known types of marine eels. These are all true eels of the order Anguilliformes. Leptocephali of eight species of eels from the South Atlantic Ocean were described by Meyer-Rochow The fishes of the other four traditional orders of elopomorph fishes that have this type of larvae are more diverse in their body forms and include the tarpon, bonefish, spiny eel, pelican eel and deep sea species like Cyema atrum and notacanthid species, the latter with giant Leptocephalus-like larvae.
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.
The Colocongridae, the worm eels or short-tail eels are a family of eels, containing a single genus, Coloconger.
Uropterygius macularius is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the western Atlantic Ocean. It is commonly known as the marbled moray.
Monognathus ahlstromi, the paddletail onejaw, is an ocean dwelling, eel-like fish found in the North Pacific Ocean off of the coast of US. They are found up to a depth of 2,000 m. They do not provide parental care. Little information is currently known about their habits or full distribution.
The ridged eel is an eel in the family Moringuidae. It was described by Charles Frédéric Girard in 1858. It is a subtropical, marine eel known from the western Atlantic Ocean, including the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, Cuba, and northern South America. The larvae have been found ranging from the Straits of Florida to Brazil. It typically dwells at a depth range of 13–180 m, and inhabits offshore banks. Males can reach a maximum total length of 30 cm.
The swollengut worm eel is an eel in the family Moringuidae. It was described by Peter Henry John Castle in 1965, originally under the genus Leptocephalus. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling eel endemic to Australia.
Coloconger cadenati is an eel in the family Colocongridae. It was described by Robert H. Kanazawa in 1961. It is a marine, deep-water dwelling eel which is known from Senegal to the Gulf of Guinea in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is known from a depth range of 270–600 m. Males can reach a maximum total length of 90 cm. The diet of C. cadenati consists primarily of benthic crustaceans.
Coloconger eximia is an eel in the family Colocongridae. It was described by Peter Henry John Castle in 1967, originally under the genus Ascomana. It is a marine, deep-water dwelling eel which is known from Cape Peninsula, South Africa, in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean.
The giant leptocephalus is an eel in the family Colocongridae. It was described by Peter Henry John Castle in 1959. It is a marine, deep-water dwelling eel which is distributed worldwide.
Coloconger japonicus is a species of eels in the family Colocongridae. It was described by Yoshihiko Machida in 1984. It is a marine, deep-water dwelling eel which is known from the East China Sea. It dwells at a depth range of 750–760 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 56 centimetres.
Coloconger meadi is an eel in the family Colocongridae. It was described by Robert H. Kanazawa in 1957. It is a marine, deep-water dwelling eel from the Gulf of Mexico and Suriname in the western central Atlantic Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 650–925 m. Males can reach a maximum total length of 37.7 cm.
The froghead eel is an eel in the family Colocongridae. It was described by Alfred William Alcock in 1889. It is a marine, deep-water dwelling eel which is known from the Indo-west Pacific, including East Africa, Madagascar, and southern Japan. It dwells at a depth range of 300–1134 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 50 centimetres.
Bathycongrus trilineatus is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Peter Henry John Castle in 1964, originally under the genus Leptocephalus. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the western central Pacific Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth of 50 metres.
Congriscus megastomus is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Albert Günther in 1877, originally under the genus Congromuraena. It is a marine, temperate-water dwelling eel which is known from Japan and the Kyushu-Palau Ridge, in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. It inhabits reefs. Males can reach a maximum total length of 40 centimeters. This species' remarkably large and distinct leptocephalus larvae were previously known under the name Thalassenchelys coheni. In 2016, scientists used genetic techniques to link the larvae to the adult C. megastomus. These larvae reach a maximum size of 30 cm and have a number of unusual characteristics, including two forward-facing front teeth that may be used for feeding on different prey than other eel larvae.
Heteroconger tomberua is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Peter Henry John Castle and John Ernest Randall in 1995. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western central Pacific Ocean, including Fiji and possibly New Caledonia, the Philippines, the Nicobar Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Sri Lanka. It is known to dwell at a depth of 36 m (118 ft). Males can reach a maximum total length of 42.8 cm (16.9 in).
Benthenchelys indicus is an eel in the family Ophichthidae, described by Peter Henry John Castle in 1972, originally as a subspecies of Benthenchelys cartieri. It is a marine, deep-water-dwelling eel known only from its type locality in the eastern Indian Ocean. It inhabits the pelagic zone.
Benthenchelys pacificus is an eel in the family Ophichthidae, described by Peter Henry John Castle in 1972, originally as a subspecies of Benthenchelys cartieri. It is a marine, deep-water-dwelling eel known only from its type locality in the eastern central Pacific Ocean. It inhabits the pelagic zone.
The deepwater big-eyed worm eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by John E. McCosker in 2006. It is a subtropical, marine eel which is known from New Zealand, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It dwells at a depth range of 425–820 metres. Females can reach a maximum total length of 58 centimetres.
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 centimetres.
References
- ↑ Synonyms of Coloconger canina at www.fishbase.org.
- 1 2 Coloconger canina at www.fishbase.org.
- ↑ Castle, P. H. J., and N. S. Raju, 1975 [ref. 772] Some rare leptocephali from the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans. Dana Report No. 85: 1-25, Pl. 1.
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