Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) >
Congridae (Conger and garden eels) > Congrinae
Etymology: Conger: Latin, conger = conger (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 1171 m (Ref. 56504). Temperate; 68°N - 12°N, 32°W - 42°E
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 200.0  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 300 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4453); common length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4645); common length :150 cm TL (female); max. published weight: 110.0 kg (Ref. 35388)
Eastern Atlantic: Norway and Iceland to Senegal. Also in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
Found on rocky and sandy bottoms (Ref. 12382). Depth range from 0-500 m (Ref. 4453) and from 305-1171 m in the eastern Ionian Sea (Ref. 56504). It stays near the coast when young and moves toward deeper waters upon reaching adulthood (Ref. 5377). A nocturnal (Ref. 12382) predator of fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods (Ref. 6521). Like other species of the group, it reproduces only once in its life (Ref. 5377). Sexually mature at an age of 5-15 years. Spawn in summer in the Atlantic off Portugal and in the Mediterranean. Produces 3-8 million of eggs (Ref. 35388). Marketed fresh and frozen. Eaten fried and baked (Ref. 9988).
Smith, D.G., 1990. Congridae. p. 156-167. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1.
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
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Estimates of some properties based on empirical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5001 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00058 (-0.14413 - 0.14530), b=3.18 (3.09 - 3.28), based on LWR estimates for species & family-BS (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 4.3 ±0.8 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (K=0.06; tm=5-15 (female tm>10); Fec=3,000,000).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Very high vulnerability (86 of 100) .