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Subfamily of Congridae
Garden eels
The garden eels are the subfamily Heterocongrinae in the conger eel family
Congridae . The majority of the 36 known species of garden eels live in the
Indo-Pacific , but can be found in warm ocean water worldwide.
[1]
[2]
[3] These small
eels live in burrows on the sea floor and get their name from the behavior of poking their heads from their burrows while most of their bodies remain hidden. Since they tend to live in groups, the many eel heads "growing" from the sea floor resemble the plants in a garden. They vary in color and size depending on the species. The largest species reaches about 120 cm (47 in) in length, but most species do not surpass 60 cm (24 in).
[1]
[2] Garden eel colonies can grow as large as one acre in surface area and number up to several thousand individuals.
[4]
[5]
Species
Based on
FishBase , about 10 species of garden eels are in two genera:
[1]
[6]
Gorgasia
Barnes' garden eel
B. H. Robison &
Lancraft , 1984
Gorgasia cotroneii (
D'Ancona , 1928)
Galzin's garden eel , Gorgasia galzini
Castle &
Randall , 1999
Hawaiian garden eel , Gorgasia hawaiiensis Randall &
Chess , 1980
Gorgasia inferomaculata (
Blache , 1977)
Pacific spaghetti eel , Gorgasia japonica
T. Abe , Miki &
Asai , 1977
Klausewitz's garden eel , Gorgasia klausewitzi
Quéro &
Saldanha , 1995
Whitespotted garden eel , Gorgasia maculata
Klausewitz &
Eibl-Eibesfeldt , 1959
Freckled garden eel , Gorgasia naeocepaea (
J. E. Böhlke , 1951)
Splendid garden eel , Gorgasia preclara J. E. Böhlke & Randall, 1981
Dotted garden eel , Gorgasia punctata
Meek &
Hildebrand , 1923
Gorgasia sillneri
Klausewitz , 1962
Sharp-nose garden eel , Gorgasia taiwanensis
K. T. Shao , 1990
Gorgasia thamani
D. W. Greenfield &
Niesz , 2004
Heteroconger
Heteroconger balteatus Castle & Randall, 1999
Heteroconger camelopardalis (
Lubbock , 1980)
White-ring garden eel , Heteroconger canabus (
G. I. McT. Cowan &
Rosenblatt , 1974)
Heteroconger chapmani (
Herre , 1923)
Cobra garden eel , Heteroconger cobra J. E. Böhlke & Randall, 1981
Heteroconger congroides (
D'Ancona , 1928)
Pale green eel , Heteroconger digueti (
Pellegrin , 1923)
Enigma garden eel Castle & Randall, 1999
Spotted garden eel , Heteroconger hassi (Klausewitz &
Eibl-Eibesfeldt , 1959)
Galapagos garden eel , Heteroconger klausewitzi (Eibl-Eibesfeldt &
Köster , 1983)
Masked garden eel , Heteroconger lentiginosus J. E. Böhlke & Randall, 1981
Brown garden eel , Heteroconger longissimus
Günther , 1870
Yellow garden eel , Heteroconger luteolus
D. G. Smith , 1989
Mercy's garden eel
G. R. Allen &
Erdmann , 2009
Obscure garden eel (Klausewitz & Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1959)
Mimic garden eel , Heteroconger pellegrini Castle, 1999
Black garden eel J. E. Böhlke & Randall, 1981
Zebra garden eel
Bleeker , 1868
Taylor's garden eel Castle & Randall, 1995
Heteroconger tomberua Castle & Randall, 1999
Tricia's garden eel Castle & Randall, 1999
References
^
a
b
c Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012).
Species of Congridae in
FishBase . July 2012 version.
^
a
b Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012).
Species of Heterochonger in
FishBase . July 2012 version.
^
"CAS - Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes - Genera/Species by Family/Subfamily" . researcharchive.calacademy.org . Retrieved 2023-09-13 .
^
"What's the Deal With Garden Eels?" . Ocean Conservancy . 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2023-09-13 .
^ Doubilet, David.
"The Best Images from 2019's Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition" . Weather.com . TWC Product and Technology LLC. Retrieved 26 October 2019 .
^ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012).
Species of Heteroconger in
FishBase . July 2012 version.