Macrognathus siamensis
Species of fish From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Macrognathus siamensis, the peacock eel or spotfin spiny eel, is a spiny eel found in freshwater habitats throughout Southeast Asia. They are commercially important as food and aquarium fish.[1][2]
| Macrognathus siamensis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Peacock eel from Nakhon Phanom, Thailand | |
 | |
| Peacock spiny eel from Miami-Dade County, Florida | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Synbranchiformes |
| Family: | Mastacembelidae |
| Genus: | Macrognathus |
| Species: | M. siamensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Macrognathus siamensis (Günther, 1861) | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Distribution
The peacock eel is native to the Mekong and Chao Phraya basins, which make up the countries of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.[3] They are mostly found in slow-moving backwaters that have a sandy or muddy bottom, such as swamps, canals, and ponds.[2]
There is an invasive population of peacock eels in the Everglades region of Florida, most likely being released due to the aquarium trade.[3][4][5] The eels were first discovered in the C-111 canal in 2002, and in 2004 were also found to inhabit mangrove swamps further south.[6]
Description
These fish lack scales and require a soft substrate to burrow into, such as sand, mud, or silt. They breed during the wet season when adjacent forests flood. Larvae reach 8 cm (2 in) in length in approximately 60 days after hatching.[7]
This eel can grow up to 30 cm (12 in) in standard length,[2] although 20 cm (8 in) is more common.[3] Males and females are hard to tell apart through external means.[8]
Ecology
Their main diet is small crustaceans, annelids, and fish.[3]
References
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