Hawaiian garden eel

The Hawaiian garden eel[2] (Gorgasia hawaiiensis) is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels).[3] It was described by John Ernest Randall and James Robert Chess in 1980.[4] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Hawaiian archipelago (from which its species epithet is derived), in the eastern central Pacific Ocean. It is non-migratory, and is thought to be restricted to the region. It dwells at a depth range of 11 to 53 metres (36 to 174 ft), and leads a benthic life, forming burrows in sand. Males can reach a maximum standard length of 59.8 centimetres (23.5 in).[3]

Hawaiian garden eel
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Congridae
Genus: Gorgasia
Species:
G. hawaiiensis
Binomial name
Gorgasia hawaiiensis
J. E. Randall & Chess, 1980

This eel appears during sunrise and returns to its burrow around sunset, making it a diurnal animal. Although burrows of this eel are more abundant in shallow water, larger burrows belonging to this eel can be found in deeper water.[5]

The Hawaiian garden eel's diet consists of zoobenthos.[6]

References
  1. Tighe, K.; Smith, D.G.; McCosker, J. (2019). "Gorgasia hawaiiensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T199090A2557916. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T199090A2557916.en. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  2. Common names of Gorgasia hawaiiensis at www.fishbase.org.
  3. Gorgasia hawaiiensis at www.fishbase.org.
  4. Randall, J. E. and J. R. Chess, 1980 [ref. 6924] A new species of garden eel (Congridae: Heterocongrinae) of the genus Gorgasia from Hawaii. Pacific Science v. 33 (no. 1): 17-23.
  5. Emily Donham, Michael S. Foster, Marc R. Rice, Gregor M. Cailliet, Mary M. Yoklavich, and Scott L. Hamilton (April 2017). "Natural History Observations of Hawaiian Garden Eels, Gorgasia hawaiiensis (Congridae: Heterocongrinae), from the Island of Hawai'i". University of Hawai'i Press. 71 – via Project MUSE.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. Food items reported for Gorgasia hawaiiensis at www.fishbase.org.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.