Eels are

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

, 111

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

, and about 800

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage and are usually

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s. The term "eel" is also used for some other eel-shaped fish, such as

electric eel The electric eels are a genus, ''Electrophorus'', of neotropical freshwater fish from South America in the family Gymnotidae. They are known for their ability to stun their prey by generating electricity, delivering shocks at up to 860 volts ...

s (genus ''Electrophorus''),

spiny eel The name spiny eel is used to describe members of two different families of fish: the freshwater Mastacembelidae of Asia and Africa, and the marine (and generally deep sea) Notacanthidae. Both are so-named because of their eel-like shape and stur ...

s (family Mastacembelidae),

swamp eel The swamp eels (also written "swamp-eels") are a family (Synbranchidae) of freshwater eel-like fishes of the tropics and subtropics. Most species are able to breathe air and typically live in marshes, ponds and damp places, sometimes burying them ...

s (family Synbranchidae), and

deep-sea spiny eel Notacanthidae, the deep-sea spiny eels, are a family of fishes found worldwide below , and as deep as . The earliest known spiny eel is '' Pronotacanthus sahelalmae'', from the Santonian of what is now Lebanon. Their bodies are greatly elongate ...

s (family Notacanthidae). However, these other

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

s evolved their eel-like shapes independently from the true eels. Eels live both in salt and fresh water, and some species are

catadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...

Description

Eels are elongated fish, ranging in length from in the one-jawed eel (''

Monognathus ''Monognathus'', or onejaw, is the only genus of the family Monognathidae of deep-sea eels. The name comes from the Greek ''monos'' meaning “one” and ''gnathos'' meaning “jaw”, a reference to the large mouth in comparison with the rest o ...

ahlstromi'') to in the

slender giant moray The slender giant moray or Gangetic moray, ''Strophidon sathete'', is the longest member of the family of moray eels. It is in the genus '' Strophidon''. The longest recorded specimen was caught in 1927, on the Maroochy River in Queensland; it m ...

. Adults range in weight from to well over . They possess no

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s, and many species also lack

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

s. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

and

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

s are fused with the caudal fin, forming a single ribbon running along much of the length of the animal. Eels swim by generating waves that travel the length of their bodies. They can swim backward by reversing the direction of the wave. Most eels live in the shallow waters of the

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

and burrow into sand, mud, or amongst rocks. Most eel species are

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

, and thus are rarely seen. Sometimes, they are seen living together in holes or "eel pits." Some eels also live in deeper water on the continental shelves and over the slopes deep as . Only members of the ''Anguilla'' regularly inhabit fresh water, but they, too, return to the sea to breed. The heaviest true eel is the

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 ...

. The maximum size of this species has been reported as reaching a length of and a weight of . Other eels are longer, but do not weigh as much, such as the

, which reaches .

Lifecycle

Eels begin life as flat and transparent

larvae A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

, 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 ...

. Eel larvae drift in the sea's surface waters, feeding on

marine snow In the deep ocean, marine snow (also known as "ocean dandruff") is a continuous shower of mostly organic detritus falling from the upper layers of the water column. It is a significant means of exporting energy from the light-rich photic zone to ...

, small particles that float in the water. Eel larvae then metamorphose into glass eels and become elvers before finally seeking out their juvenile and adult habitats. Many eels remain in the sea throughout their lives, but freshwater elvers of eels in the family

Anguillidae The Anguillidae are a family of ray-finned fish that contains the freshwater eels. Eighteen of the 19 extant species and six subspecies in this family are in the genus ''Anguilla''. They are elongated fish with snake-like bodies, their long dorsa ...

travel upstream and are forced to climb up obstructions, such as

weirs A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

, dam walls, and natural waterfalls. Eel-life-circle1

File:LeptocephalusConger.jpg, Eel eggs hatch firstly into the

leptocephalus 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 families, ...

larval stage File:Glasseelskils.jpg, Larval eels become

glass eel The eel is a long, thin bony fish of the order Anguilliformes. The species has a catadromous life cycle, that is: at different stages of development migrating between inland waterways and the deep ocean. Because fishermen never caught anything the ...

s as they transition from the ocean to fresh water File:Rostrata.jpg, As freshwater elvers, eels work their way upstream File:FMIB 35739 Anguilla vulgaris -- Anguilla.jpeg, Mature silver stage eels migrate back to the ocean to mate

Lady Colin Campbell Georgia Arianna, Lady Colin Campbell (''née'' Ziadie, born 17 August 1949), also known as Lady C, is a British Jamaican author, socialite, and television personality who has published seven books about the British royal family. They include b ...

found that the eel fisheries at

Ballisodare Ballysadare (), locally also Ballisodare, is a town in County Sligo, Ireland. It is about 7 kilometres (4 miles) south of Sligo town. The town developed on an important crossing of the Owenmore River. History Toponymy The Ox Mountains () are ...

were greatly improved by the hanging of loosely plaited grass ladders over barriers, enabling elvers to ascend more easily.

Classification

Several classifications of eels exist; some, such as

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

, divide eels into 20 families, whereas other classifications such as

ITIS The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagenc ...

and Systema Naturae 2000, include additional eel families, which are noted below the family with which they are synonymized in the FishBase system. Identifying the origin of the freshwater species is considered to be problematic; however, genomic studies indicate they are a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

group that originated among the deep-sea eels.

Suborders and families

Taxonomy based on Nelson, Grande and Wilson 2016. * Suborder Protanguilloidei ** Family

Protanguillidae ''Protanguilla palau'' is a species of eel, the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Protanguilla'' (first eel), which is in turn the only genus in its family (biology), family, Protanguillidae. Individuals were found swimming in March 20 ...

* Suborder Synaphobranchoidei ** Family

Synaphobranchidae Cutthroat eels are a family, Synaphobranchidae, of eels, the only members of the suborder Synaphobranchoidei. They are found worldwide in temperate and tropical seas. Cutthroat eels range from in length. They are bottom-dwelling fish, found in ...

(cutthroat eels) ncl. Dysommidae, Nettodaridae, and Simenchelyidae* Suborder

Muraenoidei Muraenoidei is a suborder of eels in the order Anguilliformes which contains the following three families: * Heterenchelyidae (Mud eels) * Myrocongridae (Thin eels) * Muraenidae Moray eels, or Muraenidae (), are a family of eels whose members ...

** Family

Heterenchelyidae The Heterenchelyidae or mud eels are a small family of eels native to the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and eastern Pacific. Heterenchelyids are bottom-dwelling fish adapted to burrowing into soft mud. They have large mouths and no pectoral fin F ...

(mud eels) ** Family

Myrocongridae ''Myroconger'' is the only genus of 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 ear ...

(thin eels) ** Family

Muraenidae Moray eels, or Muraenidae (), are a family of eels whose members are found worldwide. There are approximately 200 species in 15 genera which are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water, and a few are f ...

(moray eels) * Suborder Chlopsoidei ** Family

Chlopsidae The Chlopsidae, or false morays, are a family of eels found in coral reefs worldwide. As their name suggests, they somewhat resemble moray eels in appearance. However, they are smaller than true morays, ranging from in length. Genera The family ...

(false morays) * Suborder

Congroidei Congroidei is a suborder of eels in the order Anguilliformes. It contains five families: * Derichthyidae (Longneck eels) * Ophichthidae (Snake eels and worm eels) * Muraenesocidae (Pike congers) * Nettastomatidae (Duckbill eels) * Congridae ...

** Family

Colocongridae The Colocongridae, the worm eels or short-tail eels are a family of eels, containing a single genus, ''Coloconger''. Colongrids are found in tropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and West Pacific oceans. They are bottom-dwelling fish, living i ...

(froghead eels, short tail eels) ** 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 the sea floor after the manner of plants in a garden (thus the name). The family inc ...

(congers) ncl. Macrocephenchelyidae*** Subfamily

Heterocongrinae 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 Pacif ...

(garden eels) ** Family Derichthyidae (longneck eels) ncl. Nessorhamphidae** 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 ...

(pike congers) ** Family

Nettastomatidae Nettastomatidae, the duckbill eels or witch eels are a family of eels. The name is from Greek ''netta'' meaning "duck" and ''stoma'' meaning "mouth". Duckbill eels are found along the continental slopes of tropical and temperate oceans worldwid ...

(duckbill eels) ** Family

Ophichthidae Ophichthidae is a family of fish in the order Anguilliformes, commonly known as the snake eels. The term "Ophichthidae" comes from Greek ''ophis'' ("serpent") and ''ichthys'' ("fish"). Snake eels are also burrowing eels. They are named for thei ...

(snake eels) * Suborder Moringuoidei ** Family

Moringuidae The Moringuidae are a small family of 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 e ...

(spaghetti eels) * Suborder Saccopharyngoidei ** Family

Eurypharyngidae The pelican eel (''Eurypharynx pelecanoides'') is a deep-sea eel. It is the only known member of the genus ''Eurypharynx'' and the family Eurypharyngidae. It belongs to the "saccopharyngiforms", members of which were historically placed in their ...

(pelican eels, umbrellamouth gulpers) ** Family

Saccopharyngidae ''Saccopharynx'' is a genus of deep-sea eels with large mouths, distensible stomachs and long, scaleless bodies. Commonly, these fish are called gulpers or gulper eels. It is the only genus in the family Saccopharyngidae, and is part of the deriv ...

** Family

Monognathidae ''Monognathus'', or onejaw, is the only genus of the family Monognathidae of deep-sea eels. The name comes from the Greek ''monos'' meaning “one” and ''gnathos'' meaning “jaw”, a reference to the large mouth in comparison with the rest ...

(onejaw gulpers) ** Family

Cyematidae The bobtail snipe eels are two species of deep-sea eels in the family Cyematidae, one only in each of two genera. They are small elongate fishes, growing up to 16cm (6 in) in length. The family Cyematidae is characterized by thin, short bodies w ...

(bobtail snipe eels) * Suborder

Anguilloidei The Anguilloidei are a suborder of the order Anguilliformes (the eels) containing three families: *Anguillidae (freshwater eels) *Serrivomeridae (sawtooth eels) *Nemichthyidae (snipe eels) This suborder traditionally included several other fami ...

** Family

(freshwater eels) ** Family

Nemichthyidae Snipe eels are a family, Nemichthyidae, of eels that consists of nine species in three genera. They are pelagic fishes, found in every ocean, mostly at depths of but sometimes as deep as . Depending on the species, adults may reach in length, y ...

(snipe eels) ** Family

Serrivomeridae Sawtooth eels are a family, Serrivomeridae, of eels found in temperate and tropical seas worldwide. Sawtooth eels get their name from the human-like arrangement of inward-slanting teeth attached to the vomer bone in the roof of the mouth. They ...

(sawtooth eels) Image:Anguilla anguilla.jpg, ''

Anguilla anguilla 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 ...

'', an

Image:Kaupichthys nuchalis - pone.0010676.g020.png, ''

Kaupichthys nuchalis The collared eelCommon n ...

'', a

Image:Coloconger raniceps.jpg, ''

Coloconger raniceps The froghead eelCommon na ...

'', a

Image:Conger cinereus, de nuit.jpg, ''

Conger ''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 t ...

'', a

Image:Moringua edwardsi - pone.0010676.g021.png, ''

Moringua edwardsi ''Moringua edwardsi'', the common spaghetti eel, is an eel in the family Moringuidae (spaghetti/worm eels).Moringuidae The Moringuidae are a small family of 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 e ...

Image:Muraenesox cinereus.JPG, ''

Muraenesox cinereus 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. They prim ...

'', a

Image:Echidna nebulosa Réunion.jpg, '' Echidna nebulosa'', a

Image:Expl9726 (14318848139).jpg, A

Image:Venefica tentaculata.jpg, '' Venefica tentaculata'', a

Image:Myrichthys ocellatus (Serpentine ocellée).jpg, ''

Myrichthys ocellatus The goldspotted eel (''Myrichthys ocellatus''), also known as the goldspotted snake eel or the dark-spotted snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels).

'', an

Image:Serrivomer sp.jpg, '' Serrivomer sp.'', a

Image:Expn0020 (14482376376).jpg, A

In some classifications, the family

bobtail snipe eel The bobtail snipe eels are two species of deep-sea eels in the family Cyematidae, one only in each of two genera. They are small elongate fishes, growing up to 16cm (6 in) in length. The family Cyematidae is characterized by thin, short bodies ...

s is included in the Anguilliformes, but in the FishBase system that family is included in the order

Saccopharyngiformes The saccopharyngiformes are a derived lineage of unusual eels within the order Anguilliformes, and includes families Cyematidae, Monognathidae, Eurypharyngidae, Saccopharyngidae, and the proposed family Neocyematidae. Most of the fish in this gro ...

. The

of South America is not a true eel but is a South American knifefish more closely related to the

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

s and

catfishes Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

Phylogeny

Phylogeny based on Johnson et al. 2012.

Commercial species

Use by humans

Freshwater eels (''

unagi is the Japanese word for freshwater eel, particularly the Japanese eel, . Unagi is a common ingredient in Japanese cooking, often as '' kabayaki''. It is not to be confused with saltwater eel, which is known as '' anago'' in Japanese. ...

'') and marine eels (

conger eel ''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 t ...

, ''

anago is the Japanese word for salt-water eels, normally referring to ma-anago ('' Conger myriaster''). Ma-anago are used for a seafood dish in Japan. They are often simmered (sushi) or deep-fried (tempura), compared to unagi (freshwater eels) which ...

'') are commonly used in

Japanese cuisine Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan (Japanese: ) is based on rice with miso soup and other ...

; foods such as ''unadon'' and ''unajū'' are popular, but expensive. Eels are also very popular in

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many ot ...

, and are prepared in many different ways.

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

eel prices have often reached 1000

HKD The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong and ...

(128.86 US Dollars) per kg, and once exceeded 5000 HKD per kg. In

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, eels are popularly eaten in the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

. Freshwater eels, known as ''Kusia'' in Assamese, are eaten with curry, often with herbs. The

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 ...

and other freshwater eels are mostly eaten in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and other places. Today, the European eel is considered critically endangered. A traditional east

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

food is

jellied eels Jellied eels are a traditional English dish that originated in the 18th century, primarily in the East End of London. The dish consists of chopped eels boiled in a spiced stock that is allowed to cool and set, forming a jelly. It is usually se ...

, although the demand has significantly declined since World War II. The

Spanish cuisine Spanish cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices from Spain. Olive oil (of which Spain is the world's largest producer) is heavily used in Spanish cuisine. It forms the base of many vegetable sauces (known in Spanish as ''sofri ...

delicacy ''angulas'' consists of elver (young eels) sautéed in

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

with

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

; elvers usually reach prices of up to 1000

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

per kg.

New Zealand longfin eel The New Zealand longfin eel (''Anguilla dieffenbachii'') is a species of freshwater eel that is endemic to New Zealand. It is the largest freshwater eel in New Zealand and the only endemic species – the other eels found in New Zealand are the n ...

is a traditional

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

food in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. In

Italian cuisine Italian cuisine (, ) is a Mediterranean cuisine#CITEREFDavid1988, David 1988, Introduction, pp.101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes and List of cooking techniques, cooking techniques developed across the Italian Peninsula and late ...

, eels from the

Valli di Comacchio The Valli di Comacchio, meaning "fish basins of Comacchio", are a series of contiguous brackish lagoons situated to the south of Comacchio, close to the Adriatic coast of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. They lie within the comuni of ...

, a swampy zone along the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

coast, are especially prized, along with freshwater eels of

Bolsena Lake Lake Bolsena ( it, Lago di Bolsena) is a lake of volcanic origin in the northern part of the province of Viterbo called ''Alto Lazio'' ("Upper Latium") or ''Tuscia'' in central Italy. It is the largest volcanic lake in Europe. Roman historic ...

and pond eels from

Cabras, Sardinia Cabras ( sc, Crabas) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region of Sardinia, located about northwest of Cagliari and about northwest of Oristano. Cabras borders the following municipalities: Nurachi, Orist ...

. In northern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, smoked eel is considered a

delicacy A delicacy is usually a rare and expensive food item that is considered highly desirable, sophisticated, or peculiarly distinctive within a given culture. Irrespective of local preferences, such a label is typically pervasive throughout a r ...

. Elvers, often fried, were formerly a cheap dish in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. During the 1990s, their numbers collapsed across Europe. They are now a delicacy, the UK's most expensive species. Eels, particularly the

moray eel Moray eels, or Muraenidae (), are a family of eels whose members are found worldwide. There are approximately 200 species in 15 genera which are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water, and a few are f ...

, are popular among marine

aquarists Fishkeeping is a popular hobby, practiced by aquarists, concerned with keeping fish in a home aquarium or garden pond. There is also a piscicultural fishkeeping industry, serving as a branch of agriculture. Origins of fishkeeping Fish have ...

. Eel blood is toxic to humans and other mammals, but both cooking and the digestive process destroy the toxic protein. The toxin derived from eel blood serum was used by Charles Robert Richet in his Nobel Prize-winning research which discovered

anaphylaxis Anaphylaxis is a serious, potentially fatal allergic reaction and medical emergency that is rapid in onset and requires immediate medical attention regardless of use of emergency medication on site. It typically causes more than one of the follow ...

(by injecting it into dogs and observing the effect). The poison used by Richet was actually obtained from sea anemones. Eelskin leather is highly prized. It is very smooth and exceptionally strong. It does not come from eels. It comes from the

Pacific hagfish The Pacific hagfish (''Eptatretus stoutii'') is a species of hagfish. It lives in the mesopelagic to abyssal zone, abyssal Pacific ocean, near the ocean floor. It is a Agnatha, jawless fish and has a body plan that resembles early Paleozoic Era, ...

, a

jawless fish Agnatha (, Ancient Greek 'without jaws') is an infraphylum of jawless fish in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, consisting of both present (cyclostomes) and extinct (conodonts and ostracoderms) species. Among recent animals, cyclostomes ...

which is also known as the slime eel.

In culture

The large lake of

Almere Almere () is a Planned community, planned List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Flevoland, Netherlands, located about 20 km ...

, which existed in the early Medieval

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, got its name from the eels which lived in its water (the Dutch word for eel is aal or ael, so: "ael mere" = "eel lake"). The name is preserved in the new city of

Flevoland Flevoland () is the twelfth and youngest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...

, given in 1984 in memory of this body of water on whose site the town is located. The daylight passage in the spring of elvers upstream along the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

was at one time called "eel fare". The word 'elver' is thought to be a corruption of "eel fare." A famous attraction on the

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

n island of

Huahine Huahine is an island located among the Society Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Leeward Islands group ''(Îles sous le Vent).'' At the 2017 census it had a population of 6,075. ...

(part of the

Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...

) is the bridge across a stream hosting three- to six-foot-long eels, deemed sacred by local culture. Eel fishing in

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

-era Danzig plays an important role in

Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (born Graß; ; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of Da ...

' novel ''

The Tin Drum ''The Tin Drum'' (german: Die Blechtrommel, ) is a 1959 novel by Günter Grass. The novel is the first book of Grass's ' (''Danzig Trilogy''). It was adapted into a 1979 film, which won both the 1979 Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best ...

''. The cruelty of humans to eels is used as a metaphor for Nazi atrocities, and the sight of eels being killed by a fisherman triggers the madness of the protagonist's mother. Sinister implications of eels fishing are also referenced in

Jo Nesbø Jo Nesbø (; born Jon Nesbø; 29 March 1960) is a Norwegian writer, musician, economist, and former football player and reporter. More than 3 million copies of his novels had been sold in Norway as of March 2014; his work has been translated ...

's ''

Cockroaches Cockroaches (or roaches) are a paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known a ...

'', the second book of the

Harry Hole Harry Hole (the surname pronounced as "HOO-leh"), whose name translates to "Harry Hill" in English and is also called "Harry Holy" by allies in the Australian police force,'' The Bat'' by James Nesbø, first novel of the Harry Hole series. Origi ...

detective series. The book's background includes a Norwegian village where eels in the nearby sea are rumored to feed on the corpses of drowned humans, making the eating of these eels verge on cannibalism.

Sustainable consumption

In 2010, Greenpeace International added the

Japanese eel The Japanese eel (''Anguilla japonica''; Japanese: 日本鰻 ''nihon'unagi'') is a species of anguillid eel found in Japan, Korea, China, and Vietnam, as well as the northern Philippines. There are three main species under the Anguilla genus, and ...

, and

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 ...

to its seafood red list. Japan consumes more than 70% of the global eel catch. File:Mortagne-sur-Gironde Civellier Mayflowers 2013.jpg, Eel fishing boat in France File:Boats to transport eels - Comacchio - Ferrara - Italy.jpg, Special boats to transport live eels

Comacchio Comacchio (; egl, label= Comacchiese, Cmâc' ) is a town and ''comune'' of Emilia Romagna, Italy, in the province of Ferrara, from the provincial capital Ferrara. It was founded about two thousand years ago; across its history it was first govern ...

File:Ålegård.gif, Eel trap in Denmark around 1900 File:Gerookte paling.jpeg, ''Gerookte paling'' (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

for smoked eel)

Etymology

The English name "eel" descends from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''ǣl'',

Common Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...

''*ēlaz''. Also from the common Germanic are West Frisian ''iel'',

''aal'',

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

''Aal'', and Icelandic ''áll''. Katz (1998) identifies a number of

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...

cognates, among them the second part of the Latin word for eels, ''

anguilla Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territo ...

'', attested in its simplex form ''illa'' (in a glossary only), and the Greek word for "eel," ''egkhelys'' (the second part of which is attested in Hesychius as ''elyes''). The first compound member, ''anguis'' ("snake"), is cognate to other Indo-European words for "snake" (compare Old Irish ''escung'' "eel," Old High German ''unc'' "snake," Lithuanian ''angìs'', Greek ''ophis, okhis'',

Vedic Sanskrit Vedic Sanskrit was an ancient language of the Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European language family. It is attested in the Vedas and related literature compiled over the period of the mid- 2nd to mid-1st millennium BCE. It was orally preser ...

'' áhi'',

Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...

''aži'', Armenian ''auj, iž'',

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...

''*ǫžь'', all from Proto-Indo-European ''*h₁ogʷʰis''). The word also appears in the Old English word for "hedgehog," which is ''igil'' (meaning "snake eater"), and perhaps in the ''egi-'' of Old High German ''egidehsa'' "wall lizard." According to this theory, the name

Bellerophon Bellerophon (; Ancient Greek: Βελλεροφῶν) or Bellerophontes (), born as Hipponous, was a hero of Greek mythology. He was "the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside Cadmus and Perseus, before the days of Heracles", and his ...

(Βελλεροφόντης, attested in a variant Ἐλλεροφόντης in

Eustathius of Thessalonica Eustathius of Thessalonica (or Eustathios of Thessalonike; el, Εὐστάθιος Θεσσαλονίκης; c. 1115 – 1195/6) was a Byzantine Greek scholar and Archbishop of Thessalonica. He is most noted for his contemporary account of the sa ...

), is also related, translating to "the slayer of the serpent" ('' ahihán''). In this theory, the ελλερο- is an adjective form of an older word, ελλυ, meaning "snake," which is directly comparable to Hittite ''ellu-essar-'' "snake pit." This myth likely came to Greece via Anatolia. In the Hittite version of the myth, the dragon is called ''

Illuyanka In Hittite mythology, Illuyanka was a serpentine dragon slain by Tarḫunz (), the Hittite incarnation of the Hurrian god of sky and storm. It is known from Hittite cuneiform tablets found at Çorum-Boğazköy, the former Hittite capital Hattusa ...

'': the ''illuy-'' part is cognate to the word ''illa'', and the ''-anka'' part is cognate to ''angu'', a word for "snake." Since the words for "snake" (and similarly shaped animals) are often subject to taboo in many Indo-European (and non-Indo-European) languages, no unambiguous Proto-Indo-European form of the word for eel can be reconstructed. It may have been ''*ēl(l)-u-'', ''*ēl(l)-o-'', or something similar.

Timeline of genera

References

Further references

* Tesch FW and White RJ (2008)
''The Eel''
John Wiley & Sons. . * Patrik Svensson (2019)
''The Book of Eels''
English translation (2020) by Agnes Broomé, published by ecco, .

External links

* * *
The Natural History of the Eel
, historical aspect,

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...

, 10 August 1878, Vol. 39, No. 6, p. 79 {{Authority control Articles which contain graphical timelines Commercial fish Elopomorpha Extant Cretaceous first appearances

Description

Lifecycle

Classification

Suborders and families

Phylogeny

Commercial species

Use by humans

In culture

Sustainable consumption

Etymology

Timeline of genera

See also

References

Further references

External links