Speckled longfin eel

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Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Anguillidae
Genus:	Anguilla
Species:	A. reinhardtii

Binomial name

Anguilla reinhardtii
Steindachner, 1867

The speckled longfin eel or Australian long-finned eel, Anguilla reinhardtii, is one of 15 species of eel in the family Anguillidae. It has a long snake-like cylindrical body with its dorsal, tail and anal fins joined to form one long fin. It usually has a brownish green or olive green back and sides with small darker spots or blotches all over its body. Its underside is paler.[1] It has a small gill opening on each side of its wide head, with thick lips.[2] It is Australia's largest freshwater eel, and the female grows much larger than the male.[3] It is also known as the spotted eel.

1 Distribution
2 Size and lifespan
3 Diet
4 Breeding and migration
5 References

[edit] Distribution

The long-finned eel is a native of New Guinea, eastern Australia (including Tasmania), Lord Howe Island, and New Caledonia. Specimens have been found in some Pacific islands and in New Zealand. [4] [5] It can be found in many freshwater areas, including creeks, streams, rivers, swamps, dams, lagoons, and lakes.[6]

[edit] Size and lifespan

Long-finned eels can grow to 2 metres (6 feet) for males and 1.58 metres for females, although landlocked eels can grow to 3 metres (10 feet) and weigh 20 kilograms (more than 40 pounds).[7] They can live more than 100 years.[8]

[edit] Diet

Long-finned eels are carnivorous, eating crustaceans, snails, frogs, molluscs, insect larvae, and fish — including elvers and native trout. They will also take small waterfowl.

[edit] Breeding and migration

Like the other anguillids, speckled longfin eels are catadromous: when they reach maturity, they stop feeding and migrate downstream to the sea. They may travel up to three or four thousand kilometres to a spawning ground. The larvae drift on the ocean currents and eventually reach coastal waters, where they metamorphose into elvers (tiny, semi-transparent eels). From there, they migrate upstream, traversing numerous obstacles — if necessary, leaving the water and travelling short distances over moist ground. They are well fitted to this task, being able to absorb 50% of the oxygen they need through the skin. Eventually, they take up residence in a lake, swamp, dam or river, where they remain until they reach maturity.