''Leptocephalus'' is a

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 ...

that was used for species of larval

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, called

leptocephali Leptocephalus (meaning "slim head") is the flat and transparent larva of the eel, marine eels, and other members of the superorder Elopomorpha. This is one of the most diverse groups of teleosts, containing 801 species in 4 orders, 24 famili ...

, that were thought to be new fish species, or whose adult eel species were not known. Leptocephali differ so much in appearance from their adults that the larvae and adults of eels are not easily matched, and when first discovered, leptocephali were thought to be a distinct type of fishes, but not eels. Because of this, the genus designation of ''Leptocephalus'' was used for a while for unidentified leptocephali even after it was known that these were the larvae of eels thus becoming a "

wastebasket taxon Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined ...

", but this practice is no longer used. Examples 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 ...

larvae, found in the western

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

and the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

that were named this way are listed below. Only two species (''L. bellottii'' and ''L. ophichthoides'') in two families are currently treated as having any validity, though the validity of ''L. bellottii'' is strongly in doubt.

Species

There are 16 families of leptocephalus organisms that include over 70 species.Species of Leptocephalus Genus
Fishbase.org They will be broken down according to the species that they contain. If the species has a common name or English name, it will be given after a dash. A common name can belong to many species. Family Anguillidae ''Leptocephalus brevirostris'' –

European eel The European eel (''Anguilla anguilla'') is a species of eel, a snake-like, catadromous fish. They are normally around and rarely reach more than , but can reach a length of up to in exceptional cases. Eels have been important sources of fo ...

''Leptocephalus grassii'' –

American eel The American eel (''Anguilla rostrata'') is a facultative catadromous fish found on the eastern coast of North America. Freshwater eels are fish belonging to the elopomorph superorder, a group of phylogenetically ancient teleosts. The America ...

Family Chlopsidae ''Leptocephalus hyoproroides'' Strömman, 1896 (valid as ''

Kaupichthys hyoproroides ''Kaupichthys hyoproroides'', the false moray, common false moray, grey reef eel, reef eel, plain false moray, or double-toothed xenocongrid eel,giant leptocephalus Family Congridae ''Leptocephalus congroides'' D'Ancona, 1928 (valid as ''

Heteroconger congroides ''Heteroconger congroides'' is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels).Gorgasia cotroneii ''Gorgasia cotroneii'' is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels).''Gorgasia c ...

'') ''Leptocephalus ectenurus'' Jordan & Richardson, 1909 (valid as ''

Rhynchoconger ectenurus ''Rhynchoconger ectenurus'', known commonly as the longnose conger in Australia,Leptocephalus erebennus'' '' Leptocephalus inferomaculatus'' '' Leptocephalus nystromi'' '' Leptocephalus trilineatus'' '' Leptocephalus orbignyanus'' – Argentine conger '' Leptocephalus affinis'' – bandtooth conger '' Leptocephalus eckmani'' – bandtooth conger '' Leptocephalus inornatus'' – bandtooth conger '' Leptocephalus marginatus'' – bandtooth conger '' Leptocephalus microphthalmus'' – bandtooth conger '' Leptocephalus rex'' – bandtooth conger '' Leptocephalus taenia'' – bandtooth conger '' Leptocephalus retrotinctus'' – blackedge conger '' Leptocephalus mauritianum'' – blunt tooth conger '' Leptocephalus wilsoni'' – cape conger '' Leptocephalus candidissimus'' – European conger '' Leptocephalus conger'' – European conger ''Leptocephalus gussoni'' –

European 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 ...

''Leptocephalus inaequalis'' –

''Leptocephalus lineatus'' –

''Leptocephalus morrisii'' –

''Leptocephalus pellucidus'' –

''Leptocephalus spallanzani'' –

''Leptocephalus stenops'' –

''Leptocephalus vitreus'' –

''Leptocephalus splendens'' – purple-mouthed conger (valid as '' Pseudophichthys splendens'') ''Leptocephalus capensis'' – Southern Atlantic conger '' Leptocephalus maculatus'' – spotted garden eel ''Leptocephalus scheelei'' – tropical conger Family Cyprinidae ''Leptocephalus mongolicus'' – Mongolian redfin Family Derichthyidae ''Leptocephalus ingolfianus'' – duckbill oceanic eel ''Leptocephalus anguilloides'' –

narrownecked oceanic eel The narrownecked oceanic eel, ''Derichthys serpentinus'', is a longneck eel, the only species in the genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as wel ...

Family Eurypharyngidae '' Leptocephalus pseudolatissimus'' – pelican eel Family Moringuidae ''Leptocephalus diptychus'' – spaghetti eel (valid as ''

Moringua edwardsi ''Moringua edwardsi'', the common spaghetti eel, is an eel in the family Moringuidae (spaghetti/worm eels).swollengut worm eel Family Muraenesocidae ''Leptocephalus arabicus'' (valid as ''

Gavialiceps arabicus ''Gavialiceps arabicus'' is an eel in the family Muraenesocidae (pike congers).''Gavia ...

'') Family Muraenidae ''Leptocephalus euryurus'' (valid as ''

Anarchias euryurus ''Anarchias euryurus'' is a moray eel found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean 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 wat ...

'') ''Leptocephalus forsstromi'' – purplemouth moray eel ''Leptocephalus similis'' – pygmy moray (valid as ''

Anarchias similis ''Anarchias similis'' is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Atlantic Ocean 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 i ...

'') Family Nemichthyidae ''Leptocephalus oxycephalus'' –

avocet snipe eel The avocet snipe eel (''Avocettina infans'') is a snipe eel of the family (biology), family Nemichthyidae, found in all oceans except the Mediterranean and the eastern Pacific, at depths between 50 and 4,500 m. Their length is up to . References ...

''Leptocephalus curvirostris'' –

boxer snipe eel ''Nemichthys curvirostris'', the boxer snipe eel, is a snipe eel of the family Nemichthyidae. Like other snipe eels, they have incredibly narrow and elongated bodies, and small fins. Habitat The eel lives at depths of up to 2,000 m. It has a pr ...

''Leptocephalus polymerus'' –

'' Leptocephalus andreae'' – slender snipe eel '' Leptocephalus canaricus'' – slender snipe eel ''Leptocephalus acuticeps'' –

southern snipe eel The Southern snipe eelComm ...

Family Nettastomatidae ''Leptocephalus bellottii'' D'Ancona, 1928 (valid as '' Nettenchelys bellottii'') ''Leptocephalus lateromaculatus'' D'Ancona, 1928 (valid as '' Saurenchelys lateromaculata'') '' Leptocephalus saurencheloides'' ''Leptocephalus longirostris'' – blackfin sorcerer ''Leptocephalus urosema'' – blackfin sorcerer ''Leptocephalus oxyrhynchus'' – Facciola's sorcerer ''Leptocephalus stylurus'' – pillar wire eel Family Ophichthidae '' Leptocephalus echeloides'' D'Ancona, 1928 (valid as '' Ophichthus echeloides'') '' Leptocephalus ophichthoides'' ''Leptocephalus crenatus'' – key worm eel ''Leptocephalus hexastigma'' – key worm eel ''Leptocephalus humilis'' – key worm eel ''Leptocephalus mucronatus'' – margined snake eel ''Leptocephalus undulatus'' – sharptail snake-eel (valid as ''

Myrichthys breviceps ''Myrichthys breviceps'' (syn. ''M. acuminatus''), the sharptail snake-eel, is a fish species native to the Western Atlantic. It has diffuse, yellow spots on a blueish-gray back and white belly. Spots are small on the head, larger on the body. T ...

'') ''Leptocephalus gilberti'' – sooty eel ''Leptocephalus mollis'' – speckled worm eel '' Leptocephalus caudomaculatus'' – spotted spoon-nose eel Family Saccopharyngidae ''Leptocephalus latissimus'' (valid as ''

Saccopharynx ampullaceus ''Saccopharynx ampullaceus'', referred to as the gulper eel, gulper, taillight gulper or pelican-fish, is an ocean-dwelling eel found in the North Atlantic Ocean. They are found up to a depth of .

'') Family Serrivomeridae ''Leptocephalus lanceolatus'' – Bean's sawtooth eel ''Leptocephalus lanceolatoides'' – short-tooth sawpalate Family Synaphobranchidae '' Leptocephalus dolichorhynchus'' '' Leptocephalus proboscideus'' '' Leptocephalus telescopicus'' – pignosed arrowtooth eel

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6527979 Eels Obsolete vertebrate taxa