Pacific shortfinned eel

Pacific shortfinned eel
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Anguillidae
Genus: Anguilla
Species: A. obscura
Binomial name
Anguilla obscura
Günther, 1871

The Pacific shortfinned eel (Anguilla obscura), also known as the Pacific shortfinned freshwater eel, the short-finned eel, and the South Pacific eel,[2] is an eel in the family Anguillidae.[3] It was described by Albert Günther in 1871.[4] It is a tropical, freshwater eel which is known from western New Guinea, Queensland, Australia, the Society Islands, and possibly South Africa.[3] The eels spend most of their lives in freshwater, but migrate to the Pacific Ocean to breed. Males can reach a maximum total length of 110 centimetres, but more commonly reach a TL of around 60 cm. The Pacific shortfinned eel is most similar to Anguilla australis (more commonly known as the Short-finned eel), and Anguilla bicolor (the Indonesian shortfin eel), but can be distinguished by the number of vertebrae.[3]

The Pacific shortfinned eel feeds primarily off of bony fish (including the genus Oreochromis),[5] crustaceans and mollusks. It is a commercial eel in subsistence fisheries.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Jacoby, D. & Gollock, M. (2014). "Anguilla obscura". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2014: e.T196302A2443435. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T196302A2443435.en. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  2. ↑ Common names for Anguilla obscura at www.fishbase.org.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Anguilla obscura Archived 2013-04-12 at Archive.is at www.fishbase.org.
  4. ↑ Günther, A., 1871 (Apr.) [ref. 1997] Report on several collections of fishes recently obtained for the British Museum. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1871 (pt 3): 652-675, Pls. 53-70.
  5. ↑ Food items reported for Anguilla obscura at www.fishbase.org.

Further reading

  • Beumer, JP; Pearson RG, Penridge LK (1981). "Pacific short-finned eel, Anguilla obscura Gunther, 1871 in Australia: recent records of its distribution and maximum size". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland. 92: 85–90.
  • Ege, Vihl (1939). "A Revision of the Genus Anguilla Shaw: a systematic, phyogenetic and geographic study". Dana Report (16): 1–156.


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