Eels
Scientific Name: Family Muraenidae (many species like Gymnothorax javanicus – Giant Moray).
Type: Bony fish (ray-finned fish).
Habitat: Coral reefs, rocky crevices, and shallow coastal waters.
Diet: Carnivorous—fish, octopuses, and crustaceans.
Reproduction: External fertilization; they release eggs and sperm into the water.
How to Spot: Long, snake-like body, often peeking out of rocks or coral with jaws open (to breathe). Often have spotted, patterned, or solid-colored skin.
Where Found: Indo-Pacific region, Red Sea, Caribbean, Hawaii, and Mediterranean.
Scientific Name: Electrophorus electricus.
Type: Knifefish (not a true eel but similar in shape).
Habitat: Freshwater rivers and floodplains.
Diet: Fish, amphibians, and small mammals.
Reproduction: Male guards the nest where the female lays eggs.
How to Spot: Thick, cylindrical body, typically dark grey or brown, can deliver electric shocks up to 600 volts.
Where Found: Amazon and Orinoco River basins (South America).
Scientific Name: Conger conger (European Conger).
Type: Bony fish (ray-finned fish).
Habitat: Coastal waters, rocky seabeds, and wrecks at depths up to 500 meters.
Diet: Fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods.
Reproduction: Spawn once at great depths then die (semelparous).
How to Spot: Thick, long body with a smooth, scaleless skin and a blunt snout.
Where Found: Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea, and around the British Isles.
Scientific Name: Echidna nebulosa.
Type: Moray eel (part of the same family as morays).
Habitat: Coral reefs and lagoons.
Diet: Crustaceans (crabs, shrimp) and small fish.
Reproduction: External fertilization.
How to Spot: Distinctive white and black blotched pattern with yellow accents near the head.
Where Found: Indo-Pacific, including Hawaii, Indonesia, and Australia.
Scientific Name: Heteroconger hassi (Spotted Garden Eel).
Type: Bony fish.
Habitat: Sandy slopes of coral reefs, forming colonies.
Diet: Plankton drifting in currents.
Reproduction: External fertilization, usually during synchronized spawning.
How to Spot: Thin, small eels poking out of sand, swaying with the current.
Where Found: Indo-Pacific, including the Philippines, Maldives, and Japan.
Scientific Name: Anguilla anguilla (European eel), Anguilla japonica (Japanese eel).
Type: True eel (family Anguillidae).
Habitat: Freshwater rivers, estuaries, and oceans (migratory).
Diet: Insects, fish, and small crustaceans.
Reproduction: Catadromous; live in freshwater but migrate to the ocean (Sargasso Sea) to spawn and die.
How to Spot: Slender, smooth-bodied eel with small fins, usually brownish or yellowish.
Where Found: Europe (European eel), East Asia (Japanese eel), and eastern North America (American eel).