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.
Dalophis is a genus of eels in the snake eel family Ophichthidae. It currently contains the following species:
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 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 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 white-ring garden eel, also known as the Cape garden eel in Mexico, is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Garry I. McTaggart-Cowan and Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt in 1974, originally under the genus Taenioconger. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Gulf of California, in the eastern central Pacific Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth of 20 m (66 ft), and inhabits sand sediments near reefs, where it forms burrows in nonmigratory colonies. Males can reach a maximum total length of 80 cm.
The pale green eel, also known as the pale garden eel or the Cortez garden eel, is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Jacques Pellegrin in 1923, originally under the genus Taenioconger. It is a nonmigratory marine, deepwater-dwelling eel which is known from the eastern central Pacific Ocean, including the Gulf of California and Mexico. It dwells at a depth of 230 to 275 m and inhabits sandy sediments near reefs in large colonies. Males can reach a maximum total length of 63 cm.
The Galapagos garden eel is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt and Friedmann Köster in 1983, originally under the genus Taenioconger. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Colombia, Costa Rica, the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, and Panama. It dwells at a depth of 10 to 30 m, and lives in large, nonmigratory colonies in clean, sandy substrates. Males can reach a maximum total length of 70 cm.
The Johnston snake eel, also known as the peppered worm eel in Micronesia and Hawaii is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Leonard Peter Schultz and Loren Paul Woods in 1949. It is a marine, tropical eel, which is known from the Indo-Pacific region, including the Chagos Islands, Hawaii, the Marquesan Islands, the Society Islands, Australia, and New Caledonia. It dwells at a depth range of 2–23 m, and inhabits sand sediments in coral reefs. It can reach a maximum total length of 35 cm.
Dalophis boulengeri is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache, Jean Cadenat and Alfred Stauch in 1970. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Atlantic Ocean, including Angola, Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Gabon, Gambia, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Togo. It is active at night, and inhabits burrows during the daytime, leaving its head exposed. Males can reach a maximum total length of 57.4 centimetres, but more commonly reach a TL of 47.5 cm.
Dalophis multidentatus is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache and Marie-Louise Bauchot in 1972. It is known from a single specimen collected from the Saloum River in Senegal, in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is known through this specimen to form burrows in sand or mud on the continental shelf, and to dwell at a depth of 50 m (160 ft). Males are able to reach a total length of 15.3 cm (6.0 in).
The Finned worm eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Coenraad Jacob Temminck and Hermann Schlegel in 1846. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including East Africa, the Society Islands, and southern Japan. It is known to dwell in reefs. It is the only worm eel in its region which possesses pectoral fins. Males can reach a maximum total length of 60 centimetres.
Ethadophis epinepheli is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache and Marie-Louise Bauchot in 1972. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from a single specimen recovered from the stomach of a grouper in Senegal, in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is known to reach a total length of 42.4 centimetres.
Hemerorhinus opici is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache and Marie-Louise Bauchot in 1972. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Senegal and Angola. It inhabits shallow waters near to shore, and forms burrows in sand and mud substrates. Males can reach a maximum total length of 32.5 centimetres (12.8 in).
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 goldspotted eel, also known as the goldspotted snake eel or the dark-spotted snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Charles Alexandre Lesueur in 1825, originally under the genus Muraenophis. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Bermuda, southern Florida, USA; the Bahamas, Santa Catarina, and Brazil. It dwells at a maximum depth of 15 metres (49 ft), and inhabits rocky and coral reefs. Males can reach a maximum total length of 110 centimetres (3.6 ft).
The rice-paddy eel is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton in 1822, originally in the genus Ophisurus. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the Indo-West Pacific, including Somalia, Tanzania, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Polynesia, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Kenya, Madagascar, the Philippines, Malaysia, Mozambique, Seychelles, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and southern Yemen. It is an anadromous species and spawns in freshwater, often in rice paddies during the rainy season, earning it its common name. It also spends time in lagoons, estuaries and coastal rivers, in which it lives in burrows in the river bottom and bank. Males can reach a maximum total length (TL) of 100 centimetres, but more commonly reach a TL of 70 cm.
The Kaup's arrowtooth eel is an eel in the family Synaphobranchidae. It was described by James Yate Johnson in 1862. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from the Indo-Western Pacific and eastern and western Atlantic Ocean, including the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Cape Verde, the Western Sahara, Nigeria, Namibia, South Africa, Greenland, France, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Philippines, Portugal, Spain, the Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Japan, Australia, Mauritania, Morocco, and Hawaii. It dwells at a depth range of 120 to 4,800 metres, most often between 400 and 2,200 metres, and inhabits the upper abyssal zone on the continental slope. It is intolerant of the temperatures of higher waters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 100 centimetres (39 in).
