English: Eels; Devil of the Sea.
Genera: 111; 8 suborders, 19 families, ± 800 species.
ZoologyFish; nocturnal; elongated.
Size: from 5 cm to 4 m long; from 30 g to 25, up to 110 kg weight.
Fins: pelvic fins are lacking; pectoral fins are mostly lacking too; dorsal and anal fins are fused with the caudal fin, forming a single ribbon running along much of the length of the animal.
Motion: swim by generating body waves which travel the length of their bodies; they can swim backwards by reversing the direction of the wave.
Habitat: salt water and fresh water; shallow waters of the ocean and burrow into sand, mud, or amongst rocks; some species are catadromous; sometimes they are seen living together in holes, eel pits; some species live in deeper water on the continental shelves and over the slopes deep as 4000 m.
Development: considerable from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage.
Food: most are predators.
TaxonomyThe name "eel" is also used for some other eel-shaped fish, such as electric eels as Electrophorus, spiny eels in the family Mastacembelidae and deep-sea spiny eels in the family Notacanthidae.
FamiliesSuborder Protanguilloidei
◦ Protanguillidae
Suborder Synaphobranchoidei
◦ Synaphobranchidae: Cutthroat eels.
Suborder Muraenoidei
◦ Heterenchelyidae: Mud eels.
◦ Myrocongridae: Tthin eels.
◦
Muraenidae: Moray eels.
◦ Suborder Chlopsoidei
◦ Chlopsidae: Ffalse morays.
Suborder Congroidei
◦ Congridae: Congers.
◦ Derichthyidae: Longneck eels.
◦ Muraenesocidae: Pike congers.
◦ Nettastomatidae: Duckbill eels.
◦ Ophichthidae: Snake eels.
Suborder Moringuoidei
◦ Moringuidae: Spaghetti eels.
Suborder Saccopharyngoidei.
◦ Eurypharyngidae: Pelican eels, Umbrellamouth gulpers.
◦ Saccopharyngidae
◦ Monognathidae: Onejaw gulpers.
◦ Cyematidae (bobtail snipe eels.
Suborder Anguilloidei
◦ Anguillidae: Freshwater eels.
◦ Nemichthyidae: Snipe eels.
◦ Serrivomeridae: sawtooth eels.