Anguilla rostrata (Lesueur, 1817)

American eel

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Actinopterygii \| Anguilliformes \| Anguillidae
Synonyms	Muraena rostrata, Anguilla aterrima, Anguilla blephura, ... more
Common names	Anguille d'Amérique, Anguila americana, Eel, ... more

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Image of Anguilla rostrata (American eel)

Picture by Sneegas, G.W.

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AquaMaps Data sources: GBIF OBIS

Main reference

Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr. 1991. (Ref. 5723)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 152 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26938); 122 cm TL (female); common length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3242); max. published weight: 7,330 g (Ref. 4699); max. reported age: 43 years (Ref. 40922)

Environment

Demersal; catadromous (Ref. 26938); freshwater; brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 464 m

Climate / Range

Subtropical; 4°C - 25°C (Ref. 12468); 66°N - 7°N, 98°W - 21°W

Northwest to western Central Atlantic: Greenland south along the Atlantic coast of Canada and the USA to Panama, and throughout much of the West Indies south to Trinidad.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. Head rather long; eyes small and placed well forward on head. Lips thick. Caudal vertebrae without transverse processes. Premaxillae not developed as distinct elements in adults. Frontal bones paired, not grown together. Pectoral girdle with 7 to 9 (up to 11 in the young) radial elements. Adults usually white or light-colored below and brownish to blue-black above, but coloration is variable; young with some yellow on the edges of the dorsal and anal fins (Ref. 30499). Caudal fin rounded, joined to dorsal and anal fins. Gill opening on side in front of lower half of well-developed pectoral fin; lower jaw longer than upper; 103-111 vertebrae (Ref. 26938).

Occur in streams, rivers, muddy or silt-bottomed lakes (Ref. 5951); usually in permanent streams with continuous flow. Hide during the day in undercut banks and in deep pools near logs and boulders. Feed on larvae of Ephemeroptera, Odonata, Plecoptera, Coleoptera, Trichoptera, and Lepidoptera, as well as gastropods, oligochaetes, amphipods, isopods, mysids, and fish from the families Percidae, Cyprinidae, Ictaluridae, Catostomidae and Anguillidae (Ref. 9593). Migrate in autumn to the Sargasso Sea to spawn (Ref. 3242). Adults are caught with eel pots and trot lines. Elvers and glass eels are caught with fine mesh fyke nets and dipnets. Catadromous species. (Ref. 26938). Maximum depth reported taken from Ref. 57178.


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Not Evaluated	Harmless

Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

Tools
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Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=3-6; Fec=5,000,000)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
High to very high vulnerability (67 of 100)	Not marketed/unknown

Entered by Luna, Susan M.

Modified by Ortañez, Auda Kareen

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Page last modified by : elaxamana, 15 July 2009

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