''Conger'' ( ) is a
genus of marine
congrid eels. It includes some of the largest types of eels, ranging up to 2 m (6 ft) or more in length, in the case of the European conger. Large congers have often been observed by divers during the day in parts of the
Mediterranean Sea, and both European and American congers are sometimes caught by fishermen along the European and North American Atlantic coasts.
The life histories of most conger eels are poorly known. Based on collections of their small
leptocephalus larvae, the American conger eel has been found to spawn in the southwestern
Sargasso Sea
The Sargasso Sea () is a region of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by four currents forming an ocean gyre. Unlike all other regions called seas, it has no land boundaries. It is distinguished from other parts of the Atlantic Ocean by its charac ...
, close to the spawning areas of the
Atlantic freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
eels.
"Conger" or "conger eel" is sometimes included in the common names of species of the family
Congridae, including members of this genus.
Description
Congers have wide mouths with sturdy teeth, usually a variant of gray or black in coloration. They have no scales. Their body weight can reach over 57 kilograms (125 lbs).
Species
* ''
Conger cinereus
The longfin African conger (''Conger cinereus'') or blacklip conger, is an eel of the family (biology), family Congridae, found in the Indo-Pacific oceans from the Red Sea and East Africa to the Marquesas Islands, Marquesas and Easter Islands, Eas ...
''
Rüppell, 1830 (longfin African conger)
* ''
Conger conger
The European conger (''Conger conger'') is a species of conger of the family Congridae. It is the heaviest eel in the world and native to the northeast Atlantic, including the Mediterranean Sea.
Description and behavior
European congers have an ...
''
( Linnaeus, 1758
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...
) (European conger)
* ''
Conger erebennus
''Conger erebennus'' is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels). It was described by David Starr Jordan and John Otterbein Snyder in 1901, originally under the genus ''Leptocephalus''. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling eel w ...
''
( D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1901) (Anaconger)
* ''
Conger esculentus
The grey conger (''Conger esculentus''), also known as the Antillean conger or simply the conger eel, is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels). ''
Poey, 1861 (grey conger)
* ''
Conger macrocephalus
''Conger macrocephalus'' is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels).[''Cong ...](_blank)
''
Kanazawa, 1958
* ''
Conger marginatus''
Valenciennes, 1850 (Hawaiian Mustache Conger)
* ''
Conger myriaster''
( Brevoort, 1856) (whitespotted conger)
* ''
Conger oceanicus
The American conger (''Conger oceanicus'') is a species of eel in the family Congridae. Other common names for this fish include conger, dog eel, poison eel and sea eel. It is a marine fish with a widespread distribution in the Western Atlantic f ...
''
( Mitchill, 1818) (American conger)
* ''
Conger oligoporus''
Kanazawa, 1958
* ''
Conger orbignianus''
Valenciennes, 1842 (Argentine conger)
* ''
Conger philippinus
''Conger philippinus'' is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels).[''Conger phi ...](_blank)
''
Kanazawa, 1958
* ''
Conger triporiceps''
Kanazawa, 1958 (manytooth conger)
* ''
Conger verreauxi
The southern conger (''Conger verreauxi'') is a conger of the family Congridae
The Congridae are the family of conger and garden eels. Congers are valuable and often large food fishes, while garden eels live in colonies, all protruding from th ...
''
Kaup, 1856 (southern conger)
* ''
Conger wilsoni
The Cape conger (''Conger wilsoni'') is a conger of the family Congridae, found in the Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth.
In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia ...
''
(Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include:
A–F
* (1859-1914), French rabbi
*Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881-1925), Austrian entrepreneur
*Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter
* (born 1972), German motor journal ...
& J. G. Schneider, 1801) (Cape conger)
Formerly Included Species
* ''Conger anagoides''
Bleeker, 1853 (sea conger) - now ''
Ariosoma anagoides''
* ''Conger auratus''
Costa, 1844 (bandtooth conger) - now ''
Ariosoma balearicum
The bandtooth conger (''Ariosoma balearicum''), also known as the Baleares conger or the Balearic conger, ''
Fishing
Fishing for congers is recorded in the 12th century. The
Norman taxation Pipe Roll recorded two ''éperquerie'' on
Guernsey
Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency.
It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
and one on
Sark. These were designated places where congers were dried.
One species of the conger eel, ''
Conger myriaster'', is an important food fish in East Asia. It is often served as
sushi.
Behaviour
Congers are
predators and can attack humans. In July 2013, a diver was attacked by a conger eel in
Killary Harbour
Killary Harbour or Killary Fjord () is a fjord or fjard on the west coast of Ireland, in northern Connemara. To its north is County Mayo and the mountains of Mweelrea and Ben Gorm; to its south is County Galway and the Maumturk Mountains.
Str ...
,
Ireland, at a depth of . The eel bit a large chunk from his face. The diver reported the creature was more than in length and "about the width of a human thigh".
References
External links
BOLDSystems: Genus Conger
Congridae
Extant Eocene first appearances
Taxa named by Lorenz Oken
{{congridae-stub