Conger
| Conger Temporal range: 55–0 Ma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conger oceanicus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Congridae |
| Genus: | Conger Oken, 1817 |
| Species | |
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See text. | |
Conger (/ˈkɒŋɡər/ KONG-gər) is a genus of marine congrid eels.[2] It includes some of the largest types of eels, ranging up to 3 m (10 ft) in length, in the case of the European conger. Large congers have often been observed by divers during the day in parts of the Mediterranean Sea, and both European and American congers are sometimes caught by fishermen along the European and North American coasts.
The life histories of most conger eels are poorly known. Based on collections of their small leptocephalus larvae, the American conger eel has been found to spawn in the southwestern Sargasso Sea, close to the spawning areas of the Atlantic freshwater eels.
"Conger" or "conger eel" is sometimes included in the common names of species of the family Congridae, including members of this genus.
Species
- Conger cinereus Rüppell, 1830 (longfin African conger)
- Conger conger (Linnaeus, 1758) (European conger)
- Conger erebennus (D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1901)
- Conger esculentus Poey, 1861 (grey conger)
- Conger macrocephalus Robert H. Kanazawa, 1958
- Conger myriaster (Brevoort, 1856) (whitespotted conger)
- Conger oceanicus (Mitchill, 1818) (American conger)
- Conger oligoporus Kanazawa, 1958
- Conger orbignianus Valenciennes, 1842 (Argentine conger)
- Conger philippinus Kanazawa, 1958
- Conger triporiceps Kanazawa, 1958 (manytooth conger)
- Conger verreauxi Kaup, 1856 (southern conger)
- Conger wilsoni (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) (Cape conger)
Fishing
Fishing for congers is recorded in the 12th-century, the Norman taxation Pipe Roll recorded two éperquerie on Guernsey and one on Sark which were designated places where conger were dried.[3]
One species of the conger eel, Conger myriaster, is an important food fish in East Asia. It is often served as sushi.
Behaviour
Congers are predators and can attack humans. In July, 2013, a diver was attacked by a conger eel in Killary Harbour, Ireland, at a depth of 25 metres (82 ft). The eel bit a large chunk from his face. The diver reported the creature was more than 6 feet (1.8 m) in length and "about the width of a human thigh".[4]
References
- ↑ skjeolks, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2009-02-20. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
- ↑ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2011). Species of Conger in FishBase. June 2011 version.
- ↑ Lempriére, Raoul. History of the Channel Islands. Robert Hale Ltd. p. 34. ISBN 978-0709142522.
- ↑ Dowling, Edna (13 July 2013). "Diver 'felt like a rag doll' in frenzied conger eel attack". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2013-07-13.