Giant mottled eel (Anguilla marmorata)

Scientific name: Anguilla marmorata Quoy & Gaimard, 1824

Giant mottled eel (Anguilla marmorata)

The Giant mottled eel (Anguilla marmorata) is a freshwater fish of the family Anguillidae. Native range: Indo-Pacific, East Africa to French Polynesia, north to southern Japan. Africa: inland Mozambique and lower Zambezi River.

Biology

Vertebrae: 100 - 110. Adults have a brownish to black marbling on their back on a greyish yellow background. This coloration can fade away. White belly. Younger specimens are greyish to orange and the marbling is less visible. Body color brown speckles scattered on back, sides and fins; yellow between speckles and edge of pectoral fin; belly white or pale blue. Head rounded; snout depressed; lower jaw protruded; gill openings small; scales matted-like under skin; pectoral fin rounded; pelvic fin absent. Distinguished from all other species by the mottled color and the long dorsal fin, which begins closer to the gill opening than to the anus.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Anguilla marmorata
Family
Anguillidae (Freshwater eels)
Order
Anguilliformes (Eels and Morays)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
70.0
Common length
26.3
Depth range
1–400 m (3–1312 ft)
Environment
Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; catadromous; depth range 1 - 400 m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Indo-Pacific: East Africa to French Polynesia, north to southern Japan. Africa: inland Mozambique and lower Zambezi River.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes
Resilience
Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (tmax=40)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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