46-681: Muraena anguilla Linnaeus, 1758 Anguilla vulgaris Shaw, 1803 Anguilla malgumora Kaup, 1856 Leptocephalus brevirostris The European eel ( Anguilla anguilla ) is a species of eel . Their life history was a mystery for thousands of years, and mating in the wild has not yet been observed. The five stages of their development were originally thought to be different species. They are critically endangered due to hydroelectric dams, overfishing by fisheries on coasts for human consumption, and parasites . European eels live through 5 stages of development: larva ( leptocephalus ), glass eel, elver, yellow eel, and silver eel. Adults in
92-466: A beaker of ice. The beakers keep condensation on the outside and ice on inside to keep the environment moist enough for the 1–3kg of eels to survive and also keep the temperature low enough. Diseases can be spread rapidly in the highly populated environments of fisheries if quarantine measures are not taken immediately upon arrival of new eels. Some common bacterial infections observed in eel fisheries are red fin and red eel pest. When an eel has
138-666: A cheap dish in the United Kingdom . During the 1990s, their numbers collapsed across Europe. They became a delicacy, and the UK's most expensive species. Eels, particularly the moray eel , are popular among marine aquarists . Eel blood is toxic to humans and other mammals, but both cooking and the digestive process destroy the toxic protein. High consumption of eels is seen in European countries leading to those eel species being considered endangered. In 2010, Greenpeace International added
184-516: A factor in the decline. The TRAFFIC program is introducing traceability and legality systems throughout trade change to control and reverse the decline of the species. The species is listed in Appendix II of the CITES Convention. Hydroelectric dams have been shown to have a significant negative impact on eel populations. Over an 80 year period, waters with large dams have experienced almost twice
230-419: A red fin infection, its tail and fins start rotting, and a salt solution should be utilized to treat it. Antibiotics can be used to treat red eel pest which is characterized by ulcerated lesions , swelling, and spots of red on the skin of the eel. In addition, Aeromonas sobria and Streptococcus spp . are other more rare bacteria to infect European eels but have been observed in necropsies and are likely
276-526: Is a critically endangered species. Since the 1970s, the numbers of eels reaching Europe is thought to have declined by around 90% (possibly even 98%). Contributing factors include overfishing , parasites such as Anguillicola crassus , barriers to migration such as hydroelectric dams, and natural changes in the North Atlantic oscillation , Gulf Stream , and North Atlantic drift . Recent work suggests polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) pollution may be
322-556: Is a monophyletic group that originated among the deep-sea eels. The earliest fossil eels are known from the Late Cretaceous ( Cenomanian ) of Lebanon . These early eels retain primitive traits such as pelvic fins and thus do not appear to be closely related to any extant taxa. Body fossils of modern eels do not appear until the Eocene , although otoliths assignable to extant eel families and even some genera have been recovered from
368-685: Is a traditional Māori food in New Zealand . In Italian cuisine , eels from the Valli di Comacchio , a swampy zone along the Adriatic coast, are especially prized, along with freshwater eels of Bolsena Lake and pond eels from Cabras, Sardinia . In northern Germany , the Netherlands , the Czech Republic , Poland , Denmark , and Sweden , smoked eel is considered a delicacy . Elvers, often fried, were once
414-594: Is an adjective form of an older word, ελλυ, meaning "snake", which is directly comparable to Hittite ellu-essar- "snake pit". This myth likely came to Greece via Anatolia. In the Hittite version of the myth, the dragon is called Illuyanka : the illuy- part is cognate to the word illa , and the -anka part is cognate to angu , a word for "snake". Since the words for "snake" (and similarly shaped animals) are often subject to taboo in many Indo-European (and non-Indo-European) languages, no unambiguous Proto-Indo-European form of
460-529: Is most prominent in Japan , yet China , Scandinavia , Europe , Australia , Morocco , and Taiwan also participate in this practice. Eel breeding programs initiated by humans have been unsuccessful thus far and therefore the entire industry is dependent on the number of eels spawning in the wild, leaving it unsustainable and vulnerable to the factors causing European Eels to be critically endangered. Eel see text Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to
506-531: Is used as a metaphor for Nazi atrocities, and the sight of eels being killed by a fisherman triggers the madness of the protagonist's mother. Sinister implications of eels fishing are also referenced in Jo Nesbø 's Cockroaches , the second book of the Harry Hole detective series. The book's background includes a Norwegian village where eels in the nearby sea are rumored to feed on the corpses of drowned humans, making
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#1732848360772552-648: The Campanian and Maastrichtian , indicating some level of diversification among the extant groups prior to the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction , which is also supported by phylogenetic divergence estimates. One of these otolith taxa, the mud-dwelling Pythonichthys arkansasensis , appears to have thrived in the aftermath of the K-Pg extinction, based on its abundance. Taxonomy based on Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes : Order Anguilliformes In some classifications,
598-476: The European eel , Japanese eel , and American eel to its seafood red list. Japan consumes more than 70% of the global eel catch. The English name "eel" descends from Old English ǣl , Common Germanic *ēlaz . Also from the common Germanic are West Frisian iel , Dutch aal , German Aal , and Icelandic áll . Katz (1998) identifies a number of Indo-European cognates, among them
644-767: The Northeast . Freshwater eels, known as Kusia in Assamese , are eaten with curry, often with herbs. The European eel and other freshwater eels are mostly eaten in Europe and the United States , and is considered critically endangered. A traditional east London food is jellied eels , although the demand has significantly declined since World War II. The Spanish cuisine delicacy angulas consists of elver (young eels) sautéed in olive oil with garlic ; elvers usually reach prices of up to 1000 euro per kg. New Zealand longfin eel
690-554: The Sargasso Sea with a swimming machine for the fish. The first to achieve some success was DTU Aqua, a part of the Technical University of Denmark . Through a combination of fresh and salt water, as well as hormones, they were able to breed it in captivity in 2006 and make the larvae survive for 4.5 days after hatching. By 2007, DTU Aqua scientists were able to set a new record where the larvae survived for 12 days by feeding
736-523: The article wizard to submit a draft for review, or request a new article . Search for " InnovatieNetwerk " in existing articles. Look for pages within Misplaced Pages that link to this title . Other reasons this message may be displayed: If a page was recently created here, it may not be visible yet because of a delay in updating the database; wait a few minutes or try the purge function . Titles on Misplaced Pages are case sensitive except for
782-487: The caudal fin, forming a single ribbon running along much of the length of the animal. Eels swim by generating waves that travel the length of their bodies. They can swim backward by reversing the direction of the wave. Most eels live in the shallow waters of the ocean and burrow into sand, mud, or amongst rocks. Most eel species are nocturnal , and thus are rarely seen. Sometimes, they are seen living together in holes or "eel pits". Some eels also live in deeper water on
828-443: The leptocephalus stage (the stage just before glass eel ), but the full life cycle has still not been completed in captivity. Much of the European eel's life history was a mystery for centuries, as fishermen never caught anything they could identify as a young eel. Unlike many other migrating fish, eels begin their life cycle in the ocean and spend most of their lives in fresh inland water, or brackish coastal water, returning to
874-533: The order Anguilliformes ( / æ ŋ ˈ ɡ w ɪ l ɪ f ɔːr m iː z / ), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families , 164 genera , and about 1000 species . Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage and are usually predators . The term "eel" is also used for some other eel-shaped fish, such as electric eels (genus Electrophorus ), swamp eels (order Synbranchiformes ), and deep-sea spiny eels (family Notacanthidae). However, these other clades , with
920-668: The slender giant moray , which reaches 4 m (13 ft). Eels begin life as flat and transparent larvae , called leptocephali . Eel larvae drift in the sea's surface waters, feeding on marine snow , small particles that float in the water. Eel larvae then metamorphose into glass eels and become elvers before finally seeking out their juvenile and adult habitats. Some individuals of anguillid elvers remains in brackish and marine areas close to coastlines, but most of them enter freshwater where they travel upstream and are forced to climb up obstructions, such as weirs , dam walls, and natural waterfalls. Gertrude Elizabeth Blood found that
966-547: The European eel to its "seafood red list", and the Sustainable Eel Group launched the Sustainable Eel Standard. As the European eel population has been falling for some time, several projects have been started. In 1997, Innovatie Netwerk in the Netherlands initiated a project where they attempted to get European eels to breed in captivity by simulating the 6,500 km (4,000 mi) journey from Europe to
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#17328483607721012-433: The Netherlands ( Leiden University and others), Belgium ( Ghent University ), France ( French National Center for Scientific Research and others), Spain (ICTA at Polytechnic University of Valencia ) and Tunisia (National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies), was started in 2010. By 2014, the eel larvae at their facilities typically survived 20–22 days, and by 2022 they were surviving up to around 140 days, well into
1058-506: The Old English word for "hedgehog", which is igil (meaning "snake eater"), and perhaps in the egi- of Old High German egidehsa "wall lizard". According to this theory, the name Bellerophon ( Βελλεροφόντης , attested in a variant Ἐλλεροφόντης in Eustathius of Thessalonica ) is also related, translating to "the slayer of the serpent" ( ahihán ). In this theory, the ελλερο-
1104-627: The Paleobiology Database: Freshwater eels ( unagi ) and marine eels ( conger eel , anago ) are commonly used in Japanese cuisine ; foods such as unadon and unajū are popular, but expensive. Eels are also very popular in Chinese cuisine , and are prepared in many different ways. Hong Kong eel prices have often reached 1000 HKD (128.86 US Dollars) per kg, and once exceeded 5000 HKD per kg. In India , eels are popularly eaten in
1150-495: The Sargasso Sea to spawn. Silvering is important in an eel's development because it allows for increased levels of the steroid hormone cortisol, which is needed for their migration from fresh water back to the sea. Cortisol plays a role in the long migration because it allows for the mobilization of energy during migration. Also playing a key role in silvering is the production of the steroid 11-Ketotestosterone (11-KT), which prepares
1196-487: The continental shelves and over the slopes deep as 4,000 m (13,000 ft). Only members of the Anguilla regularly inhabit fresh water, but they, too, return to the sea to breed. The heaviest true eel is the European conger . The maximum size of this species has been reported as reaching a length of 3 m (10 ft) and a weight of 110 kg (240 lb). Other eels are longer, but do not weigh as much, such as
1242-999: The eating of these eels verge on cannibalism. InnovatieNetwerk Look for InnovatieNetwerk on one of Misplaced Pages's sister projects : [REDACTED] Wiktionary (dictionary) [REDACTED] Wikibooks (textbooks) [REDACTED] Wikiquote (quotations) [REDACTED] Wikisource (library) [REDACTED] Wikiversity (learning resources) [REDACTED] Commons (media) [REDACTED] Wikivoyage (travel guide) [REDACTED] Wikinews (news source) [REDACTED] Wikidata (linked database) [REDACTED] Wikispecies (species directory) Misplaced Pages does not have an article with this exact name. Please search for InnovatieNetwerk in Misplaced Pages to check for alternative titles or spellings. You need to log in or create an account and be autoconfirmed to create new articles. Alternatively, you can use
1288-442: The eel fisheries at Ballisodare were greatly improved by the hanging of loosely plaited grass ladders over barriers, enabling elvers to ascend more easily. Several sets of classifications of eels exist; some, such as FishBase which divide eels into 20 families, whereas other classification systems such as ITIS and Systema Naturae 2000 include additional eel families, which are noted below. Genomic studies indicate that there
1334-533: The eel for structural changes to the skin to endure the migration from fresh water to saltwater. Sometimes the eel will never enter freshwater, and remain in their marine environment their entire life. Others grow up in brackish water, or migrate between saltwater, brackish water and freshwater several times in their lifetime. Magnetoreception has also been reported in the European eel by at least one study, and may be used for navigation. The eel farming industry uses recirculating pools to raise glass eels taken from
1380-415: The eels after an initial few days of cod roe for the small glass ones. European eels typically have a feed conversion ratio (FCR) in the range of 1.8-2.5, although European fisheries are typically in the 1.6-1.7 range. Filters are essential for eliminating waste and ensuring the eels have clean water to live in. Eels are typically transported via road in tanks with water or via air in styrofoam boxes with
1426-400: The exception of deep-sea spiny eels, whose order Notacanthiformes is the sister clade to true eels, evolved their eel-like shapes independently from the true eels. As a main rule, most eels are marine. Exceptions are the catadromous genus Anguilla and the freshwater moray , which spend most of their life in freshwater, the anadromous rice-paddy eel , which spawns in freshwater, and
European eel - Misplaced Pages Continue
1472-906: The family Cyematidae of bobtail snipe eels is included in the Anguilliformes, but in the FishBase system that family is included in the order Saccopharyngiformes . The electric eel of South America is not a true eel but is a South American knifefish more closely related to the carps and catfishes . Phylogeny based on Johnson et al. 2012. Protanguillidae Synaphobranchidae Heterenchelyidae Myrocongridae Muraenidae [REDACTED] Chlopsidae Derichthyidae Nettastomatidae Congridae [REDACTED] Ophichthidae Muraenesocidae Moringuidae Eurypharyngidae Saccopharyngidae [REDACTED] Monognathidae Cyematidae [REDACTED] Nemichthyidae Serrivomeridae Anguillidae [REDACTED] Based on
1518-425: The freshwater snake eel Stictorhinus . Eels are elongated fish, ranging in length from 5 cm (2 in) in the one-jawed eel ( Monognathus ahlstromi ) to 4 m (13 ft) in the slender giant moray . Adults range in weight from 30 g (1 oz) to well over 25 kg (55 lb). They possess no pelvic fins , and many species also lack pectoral fins . The dorsal and anal fins are fused with
1564-447: The glass eels metamorphose into elvers , miniature versions of the adult eels. As the eel grows, it becomes known as a "yellow eel" due to the brownish-yellow color of their sides and belly. After 5–20 years in fresh or brackish water, the eels become sexually mature, their eyes grow larger, their flanks become silver, and their bellies white in color. In this stage, the eels are known as "silver eels", and they begin their migration back to
1610-434: The head to the rest of the eel and can be treated with vaccinations at a young age, salt solutions, or decreased temperature of water within the enclosure. Salt solutions also can treat fungal infections that cause swelling of gills and brown or white skin patches. The exportation of European Eels has been restricted since 2010, yet on average 44% of eel sales in the United States consists of these eels. Eel aquaculture
1656-607: The likely feeding preference at the early stage. Their results indicated that they feed on various planktonic organisms, but especially microscopic jellyfish . A follow-up expedition was performed by DTU's own research ship to the Sargasso Sea region in 2014. To further the research, the PRO-EEL project, led by DTU Aqua and involving several research institutes elsewhere in Denmark ( University of Copenhagen and others), Norway ( Norwegian Institute of Fisheries and Food Research and others),
1702-452: The mother eel with a special arginine -enriched diet. At this age the content of the larval yolk sac has been used, the mouth and digestive channel have developed, and it requires feeding. Attempts with various substances failed. Deep water sampling of the presumed habitat of larval European eel in the Sargasso Sea was performed by the Galathea 3 expedition in 2006–07, in the hope of revealing
1748-460: The ocean to spawn and then die. In the early 1900s, Danish researcher Johannes Schmidt identified the Sargasso Sea as the most likely spawning grounds for European eels. The larvae ( leptocephali ) drift towards Europe in a 300-day migration. When approaching the European coast, the larvae metamorphose into a transparent larval stage called "glass eel", enter estuaries, and many start migrating upstream. After entering their continental habitat,
1794-533: The reduction of eel numbers as dam-free waters. Eels have been important sources of food both as adults (including jellied eels of East London ) and as glass eels . Glass-eel fishing using basket traps has been of significant economic value in many river estuaries on the western seaboard of Europe . In addition, the United States imports 11 million pounds of eel every year to support its sushi industry, including European eels. In order to make eel consumption sustainable, in 2010, Greenpeace International added
1840-590: The result of other stresses increasing the eel's susceptibility to disease, but can be treated with antimicrobials . Parasites such as from the genus Dactylogyrus have also been observed in necropsies, and some symptoms of parasitic infections in European eels are white spots, mucus increase, fin fraying, rubbing infected spots against the enclosure, respiratory distress, and lethargy . These parasites are best treated with salt solutions or formaldehyde solutions. Viral infections such as red head have also been observed; symptoms include red hemorrhaging spreading from
1886-753: The second part of the Latin word for eels, anguilla , attested in its simplex form illa (in a glossary only), and the Greek word for "eel", egkhelys (the second part of which is attested in Hesychius as elyes ). The first compound member, anguis ("snake"), is cognate to other Indo-European words for "snake" (compare Old Irish escung "eel", Old High German unc "snake", Lithuanian angìs , Greek ophis, okhis , Vedic Sanskrit áhi , Avestan aži , Armenian auj, iž , Old Church Slavonic *ǫžь , all from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ogʷʰis ). The word also appears in
European eel - Misplaced Pages Continue
1932-841: The town is located. The daylight passage in the spring of elvers upstream along the Thames was at one time called "eel fare". The word 'elver' is thought to be a corruption of "eel fare". A famous attraction on the French Polynesian island of Huahine (part of the Society Islands ) is the bridge across a stream hosting three- to six-foot-long eels, deemed sacred by local culture. Eel fishing in Nazi -era Danzig plays an important role in Günter Grass ' novel The Tin Drum . The cruelty of humans to eels
1978-914: The well of a family home in Brantevik , a fishing village in southern Sweden . Eels tend to range from 0 to 700 meters underwater and after spawning in the Sargasso Sea , disperse North throughout the Atlantic Ocean , its coasts, and the rivers that empty into it. Feeding occurs mainly at night, via scent and prey consists of worms, fish (including ones too big to eat without biting off chunks), mollusks such as slugs , crustaceans such as crayfish , and plankton on occasion when available in large quantities. European eels are preyed upon by bigger eels , herons , cormorants , and pike . Seagulls also prey on elvers. Eels usually find and compete for shelter by hiding in plants or tube-shaped crevices in rocks. They also hide in muddy fields when inland. The European eel
2024-452: The wild for 8 months to 2 years until they mature enough for sale. Valliculture on coasts through the use of weirs is also utilized instead of recirculating pools for eel farming. New eels are quarantined to prevent disease spread and eels are sorted by size every couple weeks to prevent cannibalism and remove dead animals. A range of 23°C to 28°C is optimal for growth and protein based pellets and pastes are utilized as food sources for
2070-545: The word for eel can be reconstructed. It may have been *ēl(l)-u- , *ēl(l)-o- , or something similar. The large lake of Almere , which existed in the early Medieval Netherlands , got its name from the eels which lived in its water (the Dutch word for eel is aal or ael , so: " ael mere " = "eel lake"). The name is preserved in the new city of Almere in Flevoland , given in 1984 in memory of this body of water on whose site
2116-523: The yellow phase are normally around 45–65 centimetres (18–26 in) and rarely reach more than 1.0 metre (3 ft 3 in), but can reach a length of up to 1.33 metres (4 ft 4 in) in exceptional cases. In addition, they range from having 110 to 120 vertebrae . While European eels tend to live approximately 15–20 years in the wild, some captive specimens have lived for over 80 years. A specimen known as "the Brantevik Eel " lived for 155 years in
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