Heterocongrinae
The garden eels are the subfamily Heterocongrinae in the conger eel family Congridae. The majority of the 36 known species of garden eels live in the Indo-Pacific, but can be found in warm ocean water worldwide.[1][2][3] These small eels live in burrows on the sea floor and get their name from the behavior of poking their heads from their burrows while most of their bodies remain hidden. Since they tend to live in groups, the many eel heads "growing" from the sea floor resemble the plants in a garden. They vary in color and size depending on the species. The largest species reaches about 120 cm (47 in) in length, but most species do not surpass 60 cm (24 in).[1][2] Garden eel colonies can grow as large as one acre in surface area and number up to several thousand individuals.[4][5]
| Garden eels | |
|---|---|
 | |
| The spotted Heteroconger hassi and striped Gorgasia preclara | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Congridae |
| Subfamily: | Heterocongrinae Günther, 1870 |
| Genera | |
Species
Based on FishBase, about 10 species of garden eels are in two genera:[1][6]
- Gorgasia
- Barnes' garden eel B. H. Robison & Lancraft, 1984
- Gorgasia cotroneii (D'Ancona, 1928)
- Galzin's garden eel, Gorgasia galzini Castle & Randall, 1999
- Hawaiian garden eel, Gorgasia hawaiiensis Randall & Chess, 1980
- Gorgasia inferomaculata (Blache, 1977)
- Pacific spaghetti eel, Gorgasia japonica T. Abe, Miki & Asai, 1977
- Klausewitz's garden eel, Gorgasia klausewitzi Quéro & Saldanha, 1995
- Whitespotted garden eel, Gorgasia maculata Klausewitz & Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1959
- Freckled garden eel, Gorgasia naeocepaea (J. E. Böhlke, 1951)
- Splendid garden eel, Gorgasia preclara J. E. Böhlke & Randall, 1981
- Dotted garden eel, Gorgasia punctata Meek & Hildebrand, 1923
- Gorgasia sillneri Klausewitz, 1962
- Sharp-nose garden eel, Gorgasia taiwanensis K. T. Shao, 1990
- Gorgasia thamani D. W. Greenfield & Niesz, 2004
- Heteroconger
- Heteroconger balteatus Castle & Randall, 1999
- Heteroconger camelopardalis (Lubbock, 1980)
- White-ring garden eel, Heteroconger canabus (G. I. McT. Cowan & Rosenblatt, 1974)
- Heteroconger chapmani (Herre, 1923)
- Cobra garden eel, Heteroconger cobra J. E. Böhlke & Randall, 1981
- Heteroconger congroides (D'Ancona, 1928)
- Pale green eel, Heteroconger digueti (Pellegrin, 1923)
- Enigma garden eel Castle & Randall, 1999
- Spotted garden eel, Heteroconger hassi (Klausewitz & Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1959)
- Galapagos garden eel, Heteroconger klausewitzi (Eibl-Eibesfeldt & Köster, 1983)
- Masked garden eel, Heteroconger lentiginosus J. E. Böhlke & Randall, 1981
- Brown garden eel, Heteroconger longissimus Günther, 1870
- Yellow garden eel, Heteroconger luteolus D. G. Smith, 1989
- Mercy's garden eel G. R. Allen & Erdmann, 2009
- Obscure garden eel (Klausewitz & Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1959)
- Mimic garden eel, Heteroconger pellegrini Castle, 1999
- Black garden eel J. E. Böhlke & Randall, 1981
- Zebra garden eel Bleeker, 1868
- Taylor's garden eel Castle & Randall, 1995
- Heteroconger tomberua Castle & Randall, 1999
- Tricia's garden eel Castle & Randall, 1999
References
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012). Species of Congridae in FishBase. July 2012 version.
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012). Species of Heterochonger in FishBase. July 2012 version.
- "CAS - Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes - Genera/Species by Family/Subfamily". researcharchive.calacademy.org. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
- "What's the Deal With Garden Eels?". Ocean Conservancy. 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
- Doubilet, David. "The Best Images from 2019's Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition". Weather.com. TWC Product and Technology LLC. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012). Species of Heteroconger in FishBase. July 2012 version.
