American eel (Anguilla rostrata) fish species and information / pictures of American eel - Anguilla rostrata

American eel (Anguilla rostrata) fish species information

Scientific Name
Anguilla rostrata

Common Name
American eel

Biology
Occur in streams, rivers, muddy or silt-bottomed lakes (Ref. 5951); usually in permanent streams with continuous flow. Hide during the day in undercut banks and in deep pools near logs and boulders. Feed on larvae of Ephemeroptera, Odonata, Plecoptera, Coleoptera, Trichoptera, and Lepidoptera, as well as gastropods, oligochaetes, amphipods, isopods, mysids, and fish from the families Percidae, Cyprinidae, Ictaluridae, Catostomidae and Anguillidae (Ref. 9593). Migrate in autumn to the Sargasso Sea to spawn (Ref. 3242). Sexual maturity occurs approximately in less than10 years and up to 40 years in freshwater (Ref. 57533). Larvae (transparent leptocephali shaped somewhat like a willow leaf) hatch and develop at sea to metamorphose into elvers in nearshore waters and estuaries (Ref. 57533). Adults are caught with eel pots and trot lines. Elvers and glass eels

Classification

Classified By

Lesueur, 1817

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Eels and Morays (Anguilliformes)

Family

Freshwater eels (Anguillidae)

Distribution

Region

Northwest to western Central Atlantic

Distribution

Northwest to western Central Atlantic: Greenland south along the Atlantic coast of Canada and the USA to Panama, and throughout much of the West Indies south to Trinidad.

Range

66°N - 7°N, 98°W - 21°W

Environment

Climate

Subtropical

Water Temperature From

4 °C

Water Temperature To

25 °C

Depth From - meters

0 m

Depth To - meters

464 m

Zone

demersal

Environment

Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; catadromous (Ref. 26938); depth range 0 - 464 m

Trophic Level

3.67 s.e. 0.59 Based on diet studies.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

True

Occurs in Fresh Water

True

Occurs on Reefs

False

Is kept in Aquariums

True

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

152 cm

Common Length

50.0 cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums

Vulnerability

High to very high vulnerability (67 of 100)

Resilience

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=3-6; Fec=5,000,000)

Threat To Humans

Harmless

IUCN Red List Status

Not Evaluated