The garden eels are the subfamily Heterocongrinae in the conger eel family Congridae. The majority of garden eels live in the Indo-Pacific, but species are also found in warmer parts of the Atlantic Ocean and East Pacific. These small eels live in burrows on the sea floor and get their name from their practice of poking their heads from their burrows while most of their bodies remain hidden. Since they tend to live in groups, the many eel heads "growing" from the sea floor resemble the plants in a garden. They vary greatly in colour depending on the exact species involved. The largest species reaches about 120 cm (47 in) in length, but most species do not surpass 60 cm (24 in). Garden eel colonies can grow as large as one acre in surface area.
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.
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.
Gnathophis capensis, the Southern Atlantic conger or southern conger, is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856, originally under the genus Leptocephalus. It is a subtropical, marine eel which is known from the southeastern Atlantic Ocean, including from False Bay to Plettenberg Bay, South Africa and also on Tristan da Cunha Island. It is known to dwell at a depth of 100 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 37 cm.
Uroconger drachi is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Jacques Blache and Marie-Louise Bauchot in 1976. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from a single specimen taken from Pointe Noire, Republic of the Congo, in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. From the holotype it is known to dwell at a depth of 120 metres (390 ft). Males can reach a total length of 41.5 centimetres (16.3 in).
The Barnes' garden eel is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Bruce H. Robison and Thomas M. Lancraft in 1984. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western Pacific Ocean, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. It dwells at a depth range of 5 to 20 metres, and inhabits sand substrates. Males can reach a maximum total length of 121 centimetres (48 in).
Gorgasia cotroneii is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Umberto D'Ancona in 1928, originally under the genus Leptocephalus. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Red Sea, in the western Indian Ocean.
The Pacific spaghetti eel is a sand dwelling eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Tokiharu Abe, M. Miki and Minoru Asai in 1977. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling eel which is known from the northwestern and southwestern Pacific Ocean, including Japan and New Zealand. It dwells at a maximum depth of 30 metres (98 ft). It is non-migratory, and inhabits sand flats near reefs. Males can reach a maximum total length of 100 centimetres (39 in); the diameter of the body is approximately 10 millimetres. Spaghetti eels will typically occur in large groups that can consist of hundreds of eels.
The Klausewitz's garden eel is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Jean-Claude Quéro and Luiz Vieria Caldas Saldanha in 1995. It is a marine, tropical eel, which is known from the Indian Ocean, including the Andaman Islands, Réunion, Mauritius, and the Comoros Islands. It dwells at a depth range of 170 to 225 metres, and forms large colonies consisting of hundreds of individual eels. Males can reach a maximum total length of 75.1 centimetres (29.6 in).
The whitespotted garden eel, also known as the Indian spaghetti eel, is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Wolfgang Klausewitz and Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt in 1959. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Western Pacific, including Maldives, the Solomon Islands, the Philippines, the Cocos Islands, Comoros, India, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It dwells at a depth range of 25 to 48 metres, and lives in non-migratory colonies that form burrows on sandy slopes, usually near coral reefs. Males can reach a maximum total length of 70 centimetres (28 in).
Gorgasia naeocepaea, the freckled garden eel, is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by James Erwin Böhlke in 1951, originally under the genus Taenioconger. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western central Pacific Ocean, including the Philippines and Indonesia. It is known to inhabit sandy regions, and dwells at a depth range of 10 to 24 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 75 centimetres (30 in).
The dotted garden eel, also known as the peppered garden eel, is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Seth Eugene Meek and Samuel Frederick Hildebrand in 1923. It is a nonmigratory tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern central Pacific Ocean, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. Males can reach a maximum total length of 50 cm.
Gorgasia sillneri is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Wolfgang Klausewitz in 1962. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea, in the western Indian Ocean. Males can reach a maximum total length of 83.8 centimetres (33.0 in).
The sharp-nose garden eel is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Shao Kwang-Tsao in 1990. It is a marine, subtropical eel which is known from Taiwan and southern Japan, in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. It is non-migratory, and dwells at a depth range of 14 to 22 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 74.1 centimetres (29.2 in). It can be identified by the shape of its snout.
Bascanichthys ceciliae is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache and Jean Cadenat in 1971. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern coastal Atlantic Ocean between Senegal and Angola. It inhabits shallow waters where it burrows in sand; the burrows are sometimes exposed during low tide. It can reach a maximum total length of 82.5 centimetres, but more commonly reaches a TL of 60 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.
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.
Mystriophis crosnieri, known commonly as the Spoon-nose eel in the United Kingdom, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache in 1971. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Senegal, Angola, and the western Mediterranean. It dwells at a depth range of 75 to 300 metres, and forms burrows in sand and mud sediments on the continental shelf. Males can reach a maximum total length of 96.5 centimetres (38.0 in).
Xyrias guineensis is an eel in the family Ophichthidae. It was described by Jacques Blache in 1975, originally under the genus Ophisurus. It is a marine, deep water-dwelling eel which is known from Pointe Noire, Congo, in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth of 300 metres (980 ft), and inhabits burrows formed in sand and mud sediments on the continental shelf. Males can reach a maximum total length of 63.6 centimetres (25.0 in).
