| White-ring garden eel | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Congridae |
| Genus: | Heteroconger |
| Species: | H. canabus |
| Binomial name | |
| Heteroconger canabus (Cowan & Rosenblatt, 1974) | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
The white-ring garden eel (Heteroconger canabus), also known as the Cape garden eel in Mexico, [3] is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels). [4] It was described by Garry I. McTaggart-Cowan and Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt in 1974, originally under the genus Taenioconger . [5] 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 (31 in; 2.6 ft). [4]
The white-ring garden eel's diet consists of zooplankton. [6] It is currently listed as Data Deficient at the IUCN redlist due to dispute over its taxonomy, although it notes that if valid, the species may be under threat as a result of inhabiting an intrareef region in a range restricted to 1,000 km2. [7]
