genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of marine
congrid
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 the sea floor after the manner of plants in a garden (thus the name). The family in ...
eel
Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...
s. These small, slender
garden eel
The garden eels are the subfamily Heterocongrinae in the conger eel family Congridae. The majority of garden eels live in the Indo-Pacific, but species are also found in warmer parts of the Atlantic Ocean (including the Caribbean) and East Pac ...
s live in groups where each individual has its own burrow. Usually, only the head and front half of the body is visible. The greatest
species richness
Species richness is the number of different species represented in an ecological community, landscape or region. Species richness is simply a count of species, and it does not take into account the abundances of the species or their relative ab ...
is in the Indo-Pacific, but species are also found in the warmer parts of the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
(including the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
) and the eastern
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. Its name relates to how a huge colony of the eels looks swaying in the current.
The garden eel is roughly 40 cm (16 in) long. The eel has large eyes compared to its body, and a weak sense of smell because of its tiny nostrils. It is timid around other animals and people, but slightly aggressive towards other males of its species. If it feels threatened, it retreats into its burrow and closes it with a mucus block so the predator cannot dig into its home. It has a gland in its tail that secretes a sticky substance that keeps the burrow from falling in on itself and burying the garden eel in sand. Scientists have yet to figure out the garden eel's lifespan in the wild.
The garden eel is a carnivore, and eats plankton. Because of its large eyes, it relies mostly on sight to find its food. It catches the plankton by staying in its burrow and swaying its head about to catch the plankton drifting by in the current.
Garden eels are sexual reproducers and sexually dimorphic. In the mating season, the eels move their burrows closer together, until they are within reaching distance. Then, the male picks which female he wants to mate and defends her viciously, biting at the head and even the eyes of any other suitors. The couple mates and the female releases the fertilized eggs, letting them float away and gather around the epipelagic zone. The garden eels develop and hatch out of their eggs while floating in the water and, when they are large enough, swim down to a sand bed and dig a burrow of their own.
One of its top predators, the Pacific snake eel, ''Ophicthus triserialis'', burrows into the sand near a colony, then digs under a garden eel's burrow and grabs its tail. This all happens under the substrate, where the unsuspecting garden eel cannot see what is happening. Trigger fish scare the garden eels into retreating into their burrows, then dig them up and devour them.
Heteroconger camelopardalis
''Heteroconger camelopardalis'' is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels).Lubbock
Lubbock ( )
is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...
Rosenblatt Rosenblatt is a surname of German and Jewish origin, meaning "rose leaf". People with this surname include:
* Albert Rosenblatt (born 1936), New York Court of Appeals judge
* Dana Rosenblatt, known as "Dangerous" (born 1972), American boxer
* Elie ...
, 1974) (white-ring garden eel)
* ''
Heteroconger chapmani
''Heteroconger chapmani'' is an eel
Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early l ...
Heteroconger hassi
The spotted garden eel (''Heteroconger hassi'') is a heteroconger belonging to the family Congridae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific.
Description
The spotted garden eel is a small fish that can reach a maximum length of . Its body is anguiform ...
Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Heteroconger taylori'' Castle & J. E. Randall, 1995 (Taylor's garden eel)
* '' Heteroconger tomberua'' Castle & J. E. Randall, 1999
* '' Heteroconger tricia'' Castle & J. E. Randall, 1999 (Tricia's garden eel)