True Eels - Freshwater Eels, Other Families Of Eels
fins elongate fish scales
The true eels are elongate bony fish with a snakelike slimy body in the order Anguilliformes. There is one family of freshwater eels (the Anguillidae), and 25 families of exclusively marine eels. The freshwater eels must return to the oceans to spawn.
The general characteristics of eels include soft-rayed fins and elongate dorsal and anal fins which merge with the caudal fin. Eels lack pelvic fins and have small pectoral fins commonly situated immediately behind the head. The jaws of eels are relatively small, but are strong, with numerous small teeth. Most ocean-living eels do not have scales, although the freshwater eels have small, oval-shaped scales embedded in their skin.
All eels are predators, feeding on a wide range of prey, including small fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and worms.
Additional Topics
The freshwater eels, comprising about 16 species, are the most familiar family of eels to most people. These fish have an unusual characteristic in their life history, known as catadromy, in which the fish spend most of their lives in fresh waters, but run to the ocean to spawn. The common freshwater eel of North America is the American eel (Anguilla rostrata). The European eel (A. anguilla) of we…
The Moringuidae is a family of 20 species of marine eels found in tropical waters, which includes the genera Moringua and Stilbiscus. These fish typically occur in shallow, soft-bottomed or gravelly habitats, where they burrow in the substratum during the day. The eel Stilbiscus edwardsi is a common species of the western Atlantic, while Moringua macrochir occurs in coastal waters of the Hawaiian …
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