The daggertooth pike conger (''Muraenesox cinereus'') also known as the darkfin pike eel in Ozzyland, to distinguish it from the related pike-eel (''Muraenesox bagio''), is a species of eel in the pike conger family,

Muraenesocidae The Muraenesocidae, or pike congers, are a small family of marine eels found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. Some species are known to enter brackish water. Pike congers have cylindrical bodies, scaleless skin, narrow heads with large ...

. They primarily live on soft bottoms in marine and brackish waters down to a depth of , but may enter freshwater. They commonly grow to about in length, but may grow as long as . Daggertooth pike congers occur in the Red Sea, on the coast of the northern Indian Ocean, and in the West Pacific from Indochina to Japan. A single specimen was also reported in the Mediterranean Sea off Israel in 1982.

Culinary uses

Daggertooth pike conger is a major commercial species, with annual catches reaching about 350,000 tonnes in recent years. The spot reporting the largest landings was Taiwan Province of China. It is eaten in Japanese cuisine, where it is known as ''hamo'' ( ハモ, 鱧). In the Kansai Region, ''hamo no kawa'' (pickled conger skins) is a traditional delicacy, and pike conger is a common ingredient in some types of ''

kamaboko is a type of cured , a processed seafood product common in Japanese cuisine. is made by forming various pureed deboned white fish with either natural or man-made additives and flavorings into distinctive loaves, which are then steamed u ...

'' (fish cake).

Parasites

As other fish, the daggertooth pike conger harbours several species of parasites.
A species of trichosomoidid

nematode The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-Parasitism, parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhab ...

which parasitizes the muscles of the fish off Japan has been described in 2014 and named '' Huffmanela hamo'', in reference to the Japanese name of the fish.Justine, J.-L. & Iwaki, T. 2014: ''Huffmanela hamo'' sp. n. (Nematoda: Trichosomoididae: Huffmanelinae) from the dagger-tooth pike conger ''Muraenesox cinereus'' off Japan. Folia Parasitologica, 61, 267–271
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Accumulations of eggs of the parasite are visible as 1–2 mm black spots in the flesh of the fish. The parasite is rare and the consumption of infected fish meat has no consequences for humans.

Gallery

File:Pike conger.jpg, Specimen seen at Nagasaki Penguin Aquarium File:Naturalis Biodiversity Center - RMNH.ART.39 - Muraenesox cinereus (Forsskål) - Kawahara Keiga - 1823 - 1829 - Siebold Collection - pencil drawing - water colour.jpeg, Illustration File:Hamo.jpg, ''Hamo'' with pickled plum File:Huffmanela hamo eggs in Muraenesox cinereus 1C.JPG, Eggs of '' Huffmanela hamo'' in muscles

References

External links

''Iron Chef'' Battle: Pike Eel
*''Darfin Pike Eel'' @ Fishes of Australia
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daggertooth pike conger The daggertooth pike conger (''Muraenesox cinereus'') also known as the darkfin pike eel in Australia, Ozzyland, to distinguish it from the related Muraenesox bagio, pike-eel (''Muraenesox bagio''), is a species of eel in the pike conger family, ...

Fish of the Indian Ocean Marine fish of Northern Australia Commercial fish

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