Heteroconger is a genus of marine congrid eels. These small, slender garden eels live in groups where each individual has its own burrow. Usually, only the head and front half of the body is visible. The greatest species richness is in the Indo-Pacific, but species are also found in the warmer parts of the Atlantic and the eastern Pacific. Its name relates to how a huge colony of the eels looks swaying in the current.
The spotted garden eel is a heteroconger belonging to the family Congridae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific.
The garden eels are the subfamily Heterochongrinae 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 tropical conger, also known as the Scheele's conger, is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Pehr Hugo Strömman in 1896, originally under the genus Leptocephalus. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including Natal and Mozambique. It inhabits reefs in lagoons, and is known to dwell at a depth of 9 metres. Males can reach a maximum total length of 20 centimetres (7.9 in).
The Hawaiian garden eel is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by John Ernest Randall and James Robert Chess in 1980. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Hawaiian archipelago, in the eastern central Pacific Ocean. It is non-migratory, and is thought to be restricted to the region. It dwells at a depth range of 11 to 53 metres, and leads a benthic life, forming burrows in sand. Males can reach a maximum standard length of 59.8 centimetres (23.5 in).
Heteroconger balteatus is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Peter Henry John Castle and John Ernest Randall in 1999. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea, in the western Indian Ocean. It is known to dwell at a minimum depth of 46 m (151 ft), and inhabits regions of current, where it forms burrows in sand. It enters its burrows tail-first. Females can reach a maximum total length of 33.1 cm.
Heteroconger camelopardalis is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Hugh Roger Lubbock in 1980. It is a non-migratory marine, tropical eel which is known from the southwestern and southeastern Atlantic Ocean, including northeastern Brazil and Ascension Island. Its population is abundant in Brazil.
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.
Heteroconger chapmani is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Albert William Herre in 1923. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from a single specimen collected from the Philippines, in the western central Pacific Ocean. The holotype specimen measured 69 cm. The species is now considered unidentifiable due to the lack of detail in the author's description, and because the only known specimen was destroyed during World War II.
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 enigma garden eel is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Peter Henry John Castle and John Ernest Randall in 1999. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western Pacific Ocean, including Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It dwells at a depth range of 3 to 25 m, and inhabits regions with dark, silty sand and seagrass of the genus Holiphila. Males can reach a maximum total length of 43.7 cm, while females can reach 41.6 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 brown garden eel, also known simply as the garden eel, is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Albert Günther in 1870. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from the eastern and western Atlantic Ocean, including Madeira, the Canary Islands, Senegal, the Bahamas, the Florida Keys, the Caribbean, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Brazil. It dwells at a depth of 10–60 m, most commonly between 20 and 60 m, and leads a nonmigratory, benthic lifestyle, inhabiting reefs in colonies. They likely spawn during the warm season. The larval state of development lasts for about 6–8 months. Adult males can reach a maximum total length of 51 centimetres.
The yellow garden eel is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by David G. Smith in 1989. It is a nonmigratory marine, tropical eel which is known from the Gulf of Mexico, in the western central Atlantic Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth of 33 m (108 ft).
Heteroconger mercyae, or Mercy's garden eel, is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Gerald R. Allen and Mark van Nydeck Erdmann in 2009. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western Pacific Ocean, including the Philippines, Indonesia, and possibly New Britain. It is known to dwell at a depth of 4 to 10 m, and inhabit sediments of silt-like sand. Males can reach a maximum total length of 67.8 cm (26.7 in).
Heteroconger obscurus, the obscure garden eel, is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Wolfgang Klausewitz and Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt in 1959, originally under the genus Xarifania. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern Indian Ocean, including the Nicobar Islands in India, and Andaman Island. It is known to dwell at a maximum depth of 15 m (49 ft), and inhabits silty sediments. Males can reach a maximum total length of 33.6 cm.
The black garden eel is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by James Erwin Böhlke and John Ernest Randall in 1981. It is a tropical, nonmigratory marine eel which is known from the western Pacific Ocean, including Ambon, Indonesia, and Negros, Philippines. It dwells at a depth range of 1–35 m. It leads a benthic lifestyle, and inhabits sand or mud, living solitary or in colonies. Males can reach a maximum total length of 53.7 cm.
The zebra garden eel is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1868. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Western Pacific, including the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Vanuatu. It inhabits shallow waters at a depth range of 1 to 10 m, and forms burrows in colonies of moderate size on sand sediments in bays, slopes and reefs. Males can reach a maximum total length of 34.7 cm.
Taylor's garden-eel is a heteroconger belonging to the family Congridae. It is native to the central Indo-Pacific.
Heteroconger tomberua is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Peter Henry John Castle and John Ernest Randall in 1995. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western central Pacific Ocean, including Fiji and possibly New Caledonia, the Philippines, the Nicobar Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Sri Lanka. It is known to dwell at a depth of 36 m (118 ft). Males can reach a maximum total length of 42.8 cm.
