Loading AI tools
Species of fish From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The speckled longfin eel, Australian long-finned eel or marbled eel (Anguilla reinhardtii) is one of 15 species of eel in the family Anguillidae. 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.[2] 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.[2][3] It is also known as the spotted eel.
| Speckled longfin eel | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Anguillidae |
| Genus: | Anguilla |
| Species: | A. reinhardtii |
| Binomial name | |
| Anguilla reinhardtii Steindachner, 1867 | |
Long-finned eels can grow to 1.6 metres and 22 kg (although generally to 1 metre) for females while males are much smaller at 650 mm and 600 g.[4] Landlocked eels have been reported to grow to 3 metres (10 feet).[3]
The long-finned eel is a native of New Guinea, eastern Australia (including Tasmania), Lord Howe Island, and New Caledonia.[2] 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.[3]
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,[5] which carries spawn to the eastern coast of Australia. This species is panmictic, spawning throughout the year.[6]
A carnivorous species, the speckled longfin eel eats an assortment of aquatic vertebrates, such as fish, turtles, and small birds.[7]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
