The speckled longfin eel, Australian long-finned eel or marbled eel (''Anguilla reinhardtii'') is one of 15
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
eel
Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...
in the family
Anguillidae
The Anguillidae are a family of ray-finned fish that contains the freshwater eels. All the extant species and six subspecies in this family are in the genus ''Anguilla'', and are elongated fish of snake-like bodies, with long dorsal, caudal and a ...
. It has a long snake-like cylindrical body with its dorsal, tail and anal fins joined to form one long fin. The dorsal fin also often extends farther than the anal fin. It usually has a brownish green or olive green back and sides with small darker spots or blotches all over its body. Its underside is paler.
It has a small gill opening on each side of its wide head, with thick lips. It is Australia's largest freshwater eel, and the female usually grows much larger than the male.
It is also known as the spotted eel.
Description
Long-finned eels can grow up to a maximum of and , although they generally grow to ) for females while males are much smaller at and .
Landlocked eels have been reported to grow to .
Distribution
The long-finned eel is a native of
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
, eastern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
(including
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
),
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...
, and
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
.
It can be found in many freshwater areas, including creeks, streams, rivers, swamps, dams, lagoons, and lakes although generally more often in rivers than lakes.
Breeding and migration
Like other ''Anguilla'' species, the eel lives predominantly in freshwater rivers and streams, but is born in deep waters of the ocean. Each species has its own spawning grounds; spawn use ocean currents to return to their adult species range. The long-finned eel spawns in the Western arm of the Southern Equatorial Current, which carries spawn to the eastern coast of Australia. This species is panmictic, spawning throughout the year.
Diet
A
carnivorous
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...
species, the speckled longfin eel eats an assortment of aquatic
vertebrate
Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain.
The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...
s, such as fish, turtles, and small birds.
See also
*
Short-finned eel
The short-finned eel (''Anguilla australis''), also known as the shortfin eel, is one of the 15 species of eel in the family Anguillidae. It is native to the lakes, dams and coastal rivers of south-eastern Australia, New Zealand, and much of th ...
References
*
Critters of Calamvale CreekInland Fisheries Service Tasmania Long-finned eel fact sheetAUSECORoyal Forest and Bird Protection Society
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2472321
Anguillidae
Freshwater fish of New Zealand
Freshwater fish of Australia
Taxa named by Franz Steindachner
Fish described in 1867