Congridae

Conger and garden eels Temporal range: Campanian–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Conger conger
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Suborder:	Congroidei
Family:	Congridae Kaup, 1856 [1]
Subfamilies
Bathymyrinae Congrinae Heterocongrinae

Spotted garden eel (Heteroconger hassi)

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 (thus the name). ^[2] The family includes over 220 species in 32 genera.

The European conger, Conger conger, is the largest of the family and of the Anguilliformes order that includes it; it has been recorded at up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in length and weighing 350 lb (160 kg). ^[3]

Congrids are found in tropical, subtropical and temperate seas around the world. Clear distinguishing features among congrids are few; they all lack scales, and most possess pectoral fins. They feed on crustaceans and small fish. ^[4]

The earliest known fossils of this group are otoliths from the Campanian of the United States. ^[5] A number of articulated specimens are known from the Paleogene of Europe. ^[6]

Genera

The Congridae is divided into the following subfamilies and genera: ^{[1] [7]}

• † Alaconger Schwarzhans, 2010 (2 species; otolith-based taxon; Late Cretaceous of the United States and Germany)
• † Bolcyrus Blot, 1978 (1 species, fossil; Eocene of Italy)
• † Congrophichthus Schwarzhans & Stringer,2020 (1 species; otolith-based taxon; Late Cretaceous and Early Paleocene of the United States)
• † Voltaconger' Blot, 1978' (1 species, fossil; Eocene of Italy)
• Subfamily Bathymyrinae J. E. Böhlke, 1949
  • Ariosoma Swainson, 1838 (39 species)
  • Bathymyrus Alcock, 1889 (three species)
  • Chiloconger Myers & Wade, 1941 (two species)
  • Kenyaconger D. G. Smith & Karmovskaya, 2003 (one species)
  • Parabathymyrus Kamohara, 1938 (six species)
  • Paraconger Kanazawa, 1961 (seven species)
  • Rostroconger D. G. Smith, 2015 (one species)
  • † Paracongroides Blot, 1978 (1 species, fossil; Eocene of Italy)
  • † Pavelichthys Bannikov & Fedotov, 1984 ^[8] (1 species, fossil; Oligocene of Russia)
• Subfamily Congrinae Kaup, 1856
  • Acromycter D. G. Smith & Kanazawa, 1977 (five species)
  • Bassanago Whitley, 1938 (four species)
  • Bathycongrus Ogilby, 1898 (22 species)
  • Bathyuroconger Fowler, 1934 (six species)
  • Blachea Karrer & D. G. Smith, 1980 (two species)
  • Castleichthys D. G. Smith, 2004 (one species)
  • Conger Bosc, 1817 (21 species)
  • Congrhynchus Fowler, 1934 (one species)
  • Congriscus D. S. Jordan & C. L. Hubbs, 1925 (three species)
  • Congrosoma Garman, 1899 (one species)
  • Diploconger Kotthaus, 1968 (one species)
  • Gavialiceps Alcock, 1889 (five species)
  • Gnathophis Kaup, 1859 (27 species)
  • Japonoconger Asano, 1958 (three species)
  • Lumiconger Castle & Paxton, 1984 (one species)
  • Macrocephenchelys Fowler, 1856 (two species)
  • Paruroconger Blache & Bauchot, 1976
  • Promyllantor Allcock, 1890 (three species)
  • Pseudophichthys Roule, 1915 (one species)
  • Rhynchoconger D. S. Jordan & C. L. Hubbs, 1925 (10 species)
  • Scalanago Whitley, 1935 (one species)
  • † Smithconger Carnevale, Schwarzhans, Schrøder & Lindow, 2022 (two species, fossil & otolith; Eocene of Denmark & New Zealand) ^[6]
  • Uroconger Kaup, 1856 (four species)
  • Xenomystax Gilbert, 1891 (five species)
• Subfamily Heterocongrinae Günther, 1870 (garden eels)
  • Gorgasia Meek & Hildebrand, 1923 (14 species)
  • Heteroconger Bleeker, 1868 (24 species)

See also

• List of fish families

References

1. Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 1–230. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 . PMID   25543675.
2. McCosker, John F. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 88–89. ISBN   0-12-547665-5.
3. British Conger Club Archived 2005-01-03 at the Wayback Machine
4. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Family Congridae". FishBase . December 2008 version.
5. Schwarzhans, Werner; Stringer, Gary L. (2020-05-06). "Fish Otoliths from the Late Maastrichtian Kemp Clay (Texas, Usa) and the Early Danian Clayton Formation (Arkansas, Usa) and an Assessment of Extinction and Survival of Teleost Lineages Across the K-Pg Boundary Based on Otoliths". Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia. 126 (2). doi:10.13130/2039-4942/13425. ISSN   2039-4942.
6. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy; Carnevale, Giorgio; Schwarzhans, Werner; Natural History Museum of Denmark; Schrøder, Ane Elise; Natural History Museum of Denmark; Lindow, Bent Erik Kramer; Natural History Museum of Denmark (2022-04-22). "An Eocene conger eel (Teleostei, Anguilliformes) from the Lillebælt Clay Formation, Denmark". Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark. 70: 53–67. doi: 10.37570/bgsd-2022-70-05-rev .
7. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Congridae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 15 November 2024.
8. Prokofiev, A.M. (2007). "A redescription and relationships of the congrid eel Pavelichthys daniltshenkoi (Anguilliformes: Congridae) from the lower Oligocene of Northern Caucasus". Journal of Ichthyology. 47: 335–340. doi:10.1134/S0032945207050013.