name: Anguilliformes

flavor_db_name_variants: anguilliformes

source: foodb

status: draft

food_db_id: Anguilliformes

id: 577

name_scientific: Anguilliformes

description: Eels (Anguilliformes) are an order of fish which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators. The term "eel" (originally referring to the European eel) is also used for some other similarly shaped fish, such as electric eels and spiny eels, but these are not members of the Anguilliformes order. Eels are elongated fish, ranging in length from 5 cm (2.0 in) in the one-jawed eel (Monognathus ahlstromi) to 4 m (13 ft) in the slender giant moray. Adults range in weight from 30 grams (1.1 oz) to well over 25 kilograms (55 lb). They possess no pelvic fins, and many species also lack pectoral fins. The dorsal and anal fins are fused with the caudal or tail fin, forming a single ribbon running along much of the length of the animal. Most eels live in the shallow waters of the ocean and burrow into sand, mud, or amongst rocks. A majority of eel species are nocturnal, and thus are rarely seen. Sometimes they are seen living together in holes, or "eel pits". Some species of eels also live in deeper water on the continental shelves and over the slopes deep as 4,000 m (13,000 ft). Only members of the Anguilla family regularly inhabit fresh water, but they too return to the sea to breed.

itis_id: 161123

wikipedia_id: Anguilliformes

picture_file_name: 591.jpg

picture_content_type: image/jpeg

picture_file_size: 11986

picture_updated_at: 2012-04-20T09:41:45.000Z

legacy_id: 618

food_group: Aquatic foods

food_subgroup: Fishes

food_type: Type 1

created_at: 2011-02-09T00:37:50.000Z

updated_at: 2019-05-14T18:05:27.000Z

creator_id: null

updater_id: null

export_to_afcdb: false

category: specific

ncbi_taxonomy_id: 7933

export_to_foodb: true

public_id: FOOD00577