| Gilbert's garden eel | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Congridae |
| Genus: | Ariosoma |
| Species: | A. gilberti |
| Binomial name | |
| Ariosoma gilberti (Ogilby, 1898) | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
The Gilbert's garden eel (Ariosoma gilberti), also known as the Gilbert's conger and the sharpnose conger, [3] [1] is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels). [4] It was described by James Douglas Ogilby in 1898, originally under the genus Congrellus . [5] 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. [4] [1] 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. [4]
The Gilbert's garden eel is preyed upon by the Pacific bearded brotula ( Brotula clarkae , a Cusk-eel). [6] Due to its widespread distribution, lack of known threats, and lack of observed population decline, the IUCN redlist currently lists the Gilbert's garden eel as Least Concern. [1]
Named in honor of ichthyologist and fisheries biologist Charles Henry Gilbert (1859–1928), who reported this species as A. balearicum in 1891 but noted variations in his specimens [7]
