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Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) >
Anguillidae (Freshwater eels)
Etymology: Anguilla: Latin, anguilla, .-ae = eel (Ref. 45335); rostrata: From the words Anguilla-Latin for eel and rostrata, meaning long nose (Ref. 10294).
More on author: Lesueur.
Entorno: milieu / zona climática / rango de profundidad / gama de distribución
Ecología
marino; agua dulce; salobre demersal; catadromo (Ref. 26938); rango de profundidad 0 - 464 m (Ref. 57178). Subtropical; 4°C - 25°C (Ref. 12468); 66°N - 5°N, 98°W - 21°W
Northwest to western Central Atlantic: Greenland south along the Atlantic coast of Canada and the USA to Panama, and throughout much of the West Indies south to Trinidad.
Longitud en la primera madurez / Tamaño / Peso / Edad
Madurez: Lm 68.5, range 37 - 100 cm
Max length : 152 cm TL macho / no sexado; (Ref. 26938); 122.0 cm TL (female); common length : 50.0 cm TL macho / no sexado; (Ref. 3242); peso máximo publicado: 7.3 kg (Ref. 4699); edad máxima reportada: 43 años (Ref. 40922)
Descripción breve
Claves de identificación | Morfología | Morfometría
Espinas dorsales (total) : 0; Espinas anales: 0. Head rather long; eyes small and placed well forward on head. Lips thick. Caudal vertebrae without transverse processes. Premaxillae not developed as distinct elements in adults. Frontal bones paired, not grown together. Pectoral girdle with 7 to 9 (up to 11 in the young) radial elements. Adults usually white or light-colored below and brownish to blue-black above, but coloration is variable; young with some yellow on the edges of the dorsal and anal fins (Ref. 30499). Caudal fin rounded, joined to dorsal and anal fins. Gill opening on side in front of lower half of well-developed pectoral fin; lower jaw longer than upper; 103-111 vertebrae (Ref. 26938).
Body shape (shape guide): eel-like.
Occurs in streams, rivers, muddy or silt-bottomed lakes (Ref. 5951); usually in permanent streams with continuous flow (Ref. 86798). Hides during the day in undercut banks and in deep pools near logs and boulders (Ref. 86798). 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). Migrates in autumn to the Sargasso Sea to spawn (Ref. 3242). Sexual maturity occurs approximately in less than10 years and up to 40 years in freshwater (Ref. 57533). Larvae (transparent leptocephali shaped somewhat like a willow leaf) hatch and develop at sea to metamorphose into elvers in nearshore waters and estuaries (Ref. 57533). Adults are caught with eel pots and trot lines. Elvers and glass eels are caught with fine mesh fyke nets and dipnets. Catadromous species. (Ref. 26938). Maximum depth reported taken from Ref. 57178.
Undertakes migration in autumn to the Sargasso Sea where spawning is said to take place. Coloration changes with sexual maturation. Dorsal surface of the pectorals becomes dark, lateral line becomes prominent, eye diameter increases and visual pigments change, body takes on a silvery bronze coloration. Females are usually larger than males and migrate much farther upstream (Ref. 57533). Adults die after spawning (Ref. 30499).
Spawn at sea but growth occurs in estuaries or freshwater (Ref. 7135). Spawning grounds believed to be between 20° and 30°N and 60°and 75°W (Ref. 40916, 40917).
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 432 p. (Ref. 5723)
Situación en la Lista Roja de la UICN (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))
Amenaza para el ser humano
Harmless
Usos humanos
Pesquerías: comercial; Acuicultura: comercial; pesca deportiva: si; Acuario: Acuarios públicos
Herramientas
Informes especiales
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Fuentes de Internet
Estimaciones basadas en modelos
Temperatura preferida (Referencia
123201): 0.5 - 24.3, mean 6.3 °C (based on 323 cells).
Índice de diversidad filogenética (Referencia
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00087 (0.00070 - 0.00108), b=3.18 (3.13 - 3.23), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Nivel trófico (Referencia
69278): 3.8 ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Resiliencia (Referencia
120179): Bajo, población duplicada en un tiempo mínimo de 4.5-14 años (tm=3-6; tmax=43; Fec=5,000,000).
Vulnerabilidad pesquera (Ref.
59153): High to very high vulnerability (72 of 100).
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Vulnerabilidad climática (Ref.
125649): High vulnerability (60 of 100).
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Nutrientes (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 32.2 [19.9, 67.1] mg/100g; Iron = 0.734 [0.430, 1.146] mg/100g; Protein = 19.6 [17.8, 21.5] %; Omega3 = 0.367 [0.197, 0.697] g/100g; Selenium = 56 [29, 105] μg/100g; VitaminA = 8.64 [1.82, 42.50] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.64 [0.46, 0.92] mg/100g (wet weight); based on
nutrient studies.