font settings and languages

Font Size: Large | Normal | Small
Font Face: Verdana | Geneva | Georgia
Languages:

Anguilla rostrata

(American Eel, Common Eel, Eel, Freshwater Eel, Silver Eel)

Overview

[ Back to top ]

Family : Freshwater eels; Occurs usually in permanent streams with continuous flow . Hides during the day in undercut banks and in deep pools near logs and boulders . Adults are caught with eel pots and trot lines . Elvers and glass eels are caught with fine mesh fyke nets and dipnets. A catadromous species. (Ref. 26938).

Common Names

[ Back to top ]

Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Catalan:

Anguila

Common Names in Czech:

Úhor Americký, Úhoř Americký, hor Americk

Common Names in Danish:

Amerikansk ål, Amerikansk Ferskvandsål, Amerikansk Ferskvandsl, Amerikansk l

Common Names in Dutch:

Aal, Amerikaanse Aal, Amerikaanse Aal;amerikaanse Paling, Amerikaanse Paling, Paling

Common Names in English:

American Eel, Common Eel, Eel, Elver (Joven), Freshwater Eel, Silver Eel

Common Names in Finnish:

Amerikanankerias

Common Names in French:

Anguille, Anguille Américaine, Anguille Amricaine, Anguille Congre, Anguille D'amèrique, Anguille D'amérique, Anguille D'amrique, Anguille D?amérique

Common Names in German:

Aal, Amerikanischer Aal

Common Names in Italian:

Anguilla Americana

Common Names in Mandarin Chinese:

美洲鰻鱺, 美洲鰻鱺, 美洲鳗鲡

Common Names in Polish:

Moringa Cetkowana, Wegorz Amerykanski

Common Names in Portuguese:

Enguia, Enguia Americana, Enguia-Americana

Common Names in Russian:

угорь американский, Amerikanskiy Ugor´, Amerikanskiy Ugor', угорь американский

Common Names in Spanish:

Anguila, Anguila Amarilla, Anguila Americana

Common Names in Swedish:

Amerikansk l

Description

[ Back to top ]

Family Anguillidae

Usually catadromous fishes in tropical and temperate waters , except eastern Pacific and south Atlantic. Eellike body with minute or embedded scales . Well developed pectorals but no pelvic fins; dorsal and caudal fin confluent with anal fin. All species are important food fishes and are sold fresh, smoked, or canned. Important aquaculture species based on captured juveniles (elvers ); widely introduced . All spend their juvenile and adult live in freshwater , returning to the ocean to spawn and die. The leptocephalus larvae are marine . There is some doubt as to the validity of some of the fifteen species currently recognized.The family Anguillidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Anguilliformes. It contains 1 genus and 15 species. It may be found in Marine, Brackish , and Freshwater environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is anguilliform . Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the upper Miocene epoch of the Tertiary period. This family may be found from 70° n to 48° s and 107° w to 178° e. Etymology of this family name : Latin, anguilla, ae = eel

Physical Description

Species Anguilla rostrata

Body: Mouth and Snout: The mouth is terminal and fairly large. Eels have jaws with teeth. No barbels . Body Pattern: The body and fins are solid dark brown or dark olive with no patterning on back grading to a dull yellow, cream or white on belly. Cycloid scales are extremely tiny and numerous . Body Shape : Elongate , flexible , snake-like body. In Wisconsin waters, typically 350-1000 mm TL , with a maximum size of 1100 mm (3 feet).

Fins: Tail rounded and continuous with long (greater than half the body length ) single dorsal and anal fins that lack spines. There are no pelvic fins. No adipose fin .

Distinguishing characteristics: The eel has a long, flexible body and no pelvic fins. It also has a terminal mouth with teeth in jaws. No pelvic fins, dorsal and anal fins long (longest ray much shorter than length of fin base ) and continuous with caudal fin. Single small gill slit at base of pectoral fin, and body covered with small, inconspicuous, embedded scales . Distinctive Features: Elongate, flexible, snake-like body. See also similar species information.

Breeding Adults : The appearance of breeding fish is similar to nonbreeding adults. This species spawns in the ocean. Only females are found in Wisconsin; males remain in the lower reaches of coastal tributaries. The body color is more silver or gray during migration to the ocean, but this silver eel form is not known with certainty from Wisconsin.

Juveniles : Juveniles exist in a larval form (leptocephalus) that is not found in Wisconsin. These fish spawn in the Sargasso Sea , which is east of Florida and the Bahamas, and make a 3,000 mile migration to Wisconsin via the Mississippi River or the Great Lakes . The larval form is transparent, shaped like a leaf, and never occurs in freshwaters .

Size/Age/Growth

Males are commonly 50 cm (Total Length) in length when caught/marketed, but may be as large as 152 cm (Total Length). May live as long as 43 years in the wild, 6 years in captivity.

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 5,106 meters (0 to 16,752 feet).Mean = -396.450 meters (-1,300.689 feet), Standard Deviation = 1,289.210 based on 1,460 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Biome: Fresh water , brackish water, saltwater . Demersal .

Biology

[ Back to top ]

Diet

Feeds 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).

Migration

Catadromous . Migrates in autumn to the Sargasso Sea to spawn (Ref. 3242).

Sound types : clucks, clicks, squeak, thumps. Sound organ: swim bladder, pneumatic duct , possibly teeth.

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. Amphiodon alosoides (Rafinesque, 1819)
  2. Anguilla rostrata (Lesueur, 1817)
  3. Clupea alosoides Rafinesque, 1819
  4. Elattonistius chrysopsis (Richardson, 1836)
  5. Hiodon chrysopsis Richardson, 1836
  6. Hiodon clodalis Lesueur, 1818
  7. Hyodon alosoides (Rafinesque, 1819)
  8. Hyodon chrysopsis Richardson, 1836
  9. Muraena rostrata Lesueur, 1817

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Data last modified by FishBase 08-Mar-1994

Similar Species

[ Back to top ]

Fish Name Body Shape Mouth/Teeth Pectoral Fin Gills Scales Similarity Index American Brook Lamprey elongated, but not snake-like Sucking disk or flexible filtering "hood" instead of jaws Absent Seven conspicuous circular gill openings No scales Slightly similar American Eel elongated, flexible, snake-like Terminal mouth with teeth in jaws Present Single small gill slit Small, inconspicuous, embedded scales N/A Chestnut Lamprey elongated, but not snake-like Sucking disk or flexible filtering "hood" instead of jaws Absent Seven conspicuous circular gill openings No scales Slightly similar Northern Brook Lamprey elongated, but not snake-like Sucking disk or flexible filtering "hood" instead of jaws Absent Seven conspicuous circular gill openings No scales Slightly similar Sea Lamprey elongated, but not snake-like Sucking disk or flexible filtering "hood" instead of jaws Absent Seven conspicuous circular gill openings No scales Slightly similar Silver Lamprey elongated, but not snake-like Sucking disk or flexible filtering "hood" instead of jaws Absent Seven conspicuous circular gill openings No scales Slightly similar Southern Brook Lamprey elongated, but not snake-like Sucking disk or flexible filtering "hood" instead of jaws Absent Seven conspicuous circular gill openings No scales Slightly similar

Members of the genus Anguilla

There are approximately 62 species in this genus:

A. aneitensis · A. anguilla (Common Eel) · A. anguilla macrocephala · A. anguilla ornithorhyncha · A. anguilla oxycephala · A. anguilla rostrata · A. aucklandii · A. australis (Eel) · A. australis australis (Australian Short-Finned Eel) · A. australis occidentalis · A. australis schmidti · A. bengalensis (African Mottled Eel) · A. bengalensis bengalensis (European Eel) · A. bengalensis labiata (African Mottled Eel) · A. bicolor (Amalona) · A. bicolor bicolor (Amalona) · A. bicolor pacifica (Indian Short-Finned Eel) · A. bostoniensis · A. breviceps · A. celebesensis (Celebes Longfin Eel) · A. chrisypa · A. chryspa · A. chrysypa · A. dieffenbachii (Longfinned Eel) · A. fidjiensis · A. anguilla · A. interioris (Highlands Long-Finned Eel) · A. japonica (Eel) · A. japonicus · A. labrosa · A. leptocephali · A. macrops · A. malgumora (Indonesian Longfinned Eel) · A. manabei · A. anguilla · A. marmorata (Giant Long-Finned Eel) · A. bicolor subsp. bicolor · A. megastoma (Pacific Long-Finned Eel) · A. mossambica (African Longfin Eel) · A. mossambicus · A. nebulosa (African Mottled Eel) · A. nebulosa elver · A. nebulosa labiata · A. nebulosa nebulosa · A. nigricans · A. obscura (Brown Eel) · A. otahaitensis · A. otaheitensis · A. pekinensis · A. reinhardtii (Australian Longfinned Eel) · A. rostata · A. rostrada · A. rostrata (American Eel) · A. anguilla · A. sidat · A. texana · A. tyrannus · A. vulgaris fluviatilis · A. vulgaris lacustus · A. vulgaris marina · A. vulgaris ornithorhincha · A. vulgaris platyura

Bibliography

[ Back to top ]

More Info

[ Back to top ]

Notes

[ Back to top ]

Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal December 09, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

Last Revised: 2008-08-20