Speckled longfin eel

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Speckled longfin eel
Anguilla reinhardtii.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Anguillidae
Genus: Anguilla
Species:
A. reinhardtii
Binomial name
Anguilla reinhardtii

The speckled longfin eel, Australian long-finned eel or marbled eel (Anguilla reinhardtii) is one of 15 species of eel in the family Anguillidae. It has a long snake-like cylindrical body with its dorsal, tail and anal fins joined to form one long fin. The dorsal fin also often extends farther than the anal fin. It usually has a brownish green or olive green back and sides with small darker spots or blotches all over its body. Its underside is paler. [2] It has a small gill opening on each side of its wide head, with thick lips. It is Australia's largest freshwater eel, and the female usually grows much larger than the male. [2] [3] It is also known as the spotted eel.

Contents

Description

Long-finned eels can grow up to a maximum of 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in) and 22 kg (49 lb), although they generally grow to 1 m (3 ft 3 in)) for females while males are much smaller at 650 mm (2 ft 2 in) and 600 g (1.3 lb). [4] Landlocked eels have been reported to grow to 3 m (9.8 ft). [3]

Distribution

The long-finned eel is a native of New Guinea, eastern Australia (including Tasmania), Lord Howe Island, and New Caledonia. [2] It can be found in many freshwater areas, including creeks, streams, rivers, swamps, dams, lagoons, and lakes although generally more often in rivers than lakes. [3]

Breeding and migration

Like other Anguilla species, the eel lives predominantly in freshwater rivers and streams, but is born in deep waters of the ocean. Each species has its own spawning grounds; spawn use ocean currents to return to their adult species range. The long-finned eel spawns in the Western arm of the Southern Equatorial Current, [5] which carries spawn to the eastern coast of Australia. This species is panmictic, spawning throughout the year. [6]

Diet

A carnivorous species, the speckled longfin eel eats an assortment of aquatic vertebrates, such as fish, turtles, and small birds. [7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Pike, C.; Crook, V.; Gollock, M. (2019) [errata version of 2019 assessment]. "Anguilla reinhardtii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T196303A154801946. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T196303A154801946.en . Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Allen, G.R.; Midgley, S.H.; Allen, M. (2002). Freshwater Fishes of Australia. Perth, Western Australia: Western Australian Museum. p. 64. ISBN   0-7307-5486-3.
  3. 1 2 3 Merrick, J.R.; Schmida, G.E. (1984). Australian Freshwater Fishes, Biology and Management. Sydney: Author. pp. 61–63. ISBN   0-9591908-0-5.
  4. ↑ Robert McDowall, ed. (1996). Freshwater Fishes of South-Eastern Australia (Rev Ed). Sydney: Reed Books. pp. 42–43. ISBN   0-86622-936-1.
  5. ↑ Aoyama, Jun (2009). "Life History and Evolution of Migration in Catodromous Eels (Genus Anguilla)". Aqua-BioScience Monographs. 2: 23. doi: 10.5047/absm.2009.00201.0001 (inactive 12 July 2025). S2CID   53319110.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
  6. ↑ Shen, Kang-Ning; Tzeng, Wann-Nian (2007). "Population Genetic Structure of the Year-Round Spawning Tropical Eel, Anguilla reinhardtii, in Australia". Zoological Studies. 46: 451. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.654.2742 .
  7. ↑ "Anguilla reinhardtii". www.jcu.edu.au. 2015-10-19. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
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