Apterichtus caecus, European finless eel

You can sponsor this page

Apterichtus caecus (Linnaeus, 1758)

European finless eel
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Apterichtus caecus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Google image
Image of Apterichtus caecus (European finless eel)
Apterichtus caecus
Picture by Rabeling, D.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) > Ophichthidae (Snake eels) > Ophichthinae
Etymology: Apterichtus: From the Greek απτερόν (apteron), without fins, and ίχθύς (ichtus, more correctly written ichthys; masculine), fish..
More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal; depth range 0 - 85 m (Ref. 101270). Subtropical; 46°N - 4°S, 32°W - 17°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: Western and eastern Mediterranean, eastern Atlantic south to Azores, Madeira, and the Canary islands.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3397)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Vertebrae: 132 - 139. This species is distinguished by the following characters: tail 1.6-1.7, head 12-15, and body depth 56-83 in total length; preopercular pores 4 and there are 5 pores in supratemporal canal; teeth conical and uniserial on jaws, becoming biserial on vomer of large specimens, vomerine teeth 8-14; when fresh body ochre in color with numerous small dark brown spots, those spots forming a continuous mid-dorsal band, yellowish on ventral surface; the head with dark brown spots over a pale background, a prominent horizontal white patch beneath and behind the orbit; MVF 52-134, total vertebrae 132-139 (n=6) (Ref. 101270).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Burrows in sand or mud on the continental shelf (Ref. 4455); usually in fine sand (Ref. 101270).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : McCosker, John E. | Collaborators

McCosker, J.E. and Y. Hibino, 2015. A review of the finless snake eels of the genus Apterichtus (Anguilliformes: Ophichthidae), with the description of five new species. Zootaxa 3941(1):49-78. (Ref. 101270)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 20 October 2011

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration
Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Spawning aggregation
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
BRUVS
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Nutrients
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 16.1 - 21, mean 19.1 °C (based on 58 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00089 (0.00039 - 0.00204), b=3.00 (2.80 - 3.20), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.64 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 48.4 [11.8, 142.6] mg/100g; Iron = 0.973 [0.362, 4.207] mg/100g; Protein = 18.9 [16.6, 21.3] %; Omega3 = 0.313 [0.144, 0.827] g/100g; Selenium = 23.7 [4.7, 65.6] μg/100g; VitaminA = 9.75 [2.86, 32.77] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.574 [0.292, 1.124] mg/100g (wet weight);