Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (/ æŋˈɡwɪlɪfɔːrmiːz /), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. [4][5] Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to …

Jul 9, 2019 · Unlike true eels, who mostly live in salt water, electric eels are found in fresh waters in South America. Electric eels are also air-breathers, meaning they need to surface about every ten minutes to breathe (as opposed to true eels, who can breathe underwater with gills).

Aug 11, 2021 · Naturalists have been probing their mysterious habits for millennia, and here are 11 things we’ve learned about the creatures. 1. Electric eels technically aren’t eels. If you’ve caught a long,...

Over 800 species of true eels are distributed worldwide, divided into 19 families and about 111 genera. Some common freshwater eels: American Eel, European Eel, Japanese Eel. Some common saltwater eels: Conger Eels, Moray Eels.

Jan 22, 2010 · Being an anguilliform is the defining characteristic. The eel bauplan has sprung up many times, but the word "eel" was first applied to the European eel and its relatives, so they get to be the "true eels".

Nov 6, 2022 · There are nearly a thousand species of true eels, including morays, congers, snake eels, freshwater eels, and deep-sea eels. The eggs of all eels hatch into transparent, ribbonlike larvae that may grow to a large size before becoming adults.

The true eels are elongate bony fish with a snakelike slimy body in the order Anguilliformes. There is one family of freshwater eels (the Anguillidae), and 14 families of exclusively marine eels. The freshwater eels must return to the oceans to spawn.

True Eels are characterized by their long, snake-like bodies which lend them the ability to navigate through both freshwater and marine environments effectively. Most True Eels are nocturnal hunters, using their acute senses to locate prey in …

Mar 21, 2025 · Although electric eels have the word “eel” in their name, they are more related to catfish than true eels. Originating from South America, electric eels are categorized under a special group called electrophorus and belong to the …

The easy answer is that a true eel is a member of the fish order Anguilliformes, and that other eel-like fish are not. But this begs the question: what characteristics are used to place a fish in the eel order?