The Galapagos garden eel[3] (Heteroconger klausewitzi) is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels).[4] It was described by Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt and Friedmann Köster in 1983, originally under the genus Taenioconger.[5] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Colombia, Costa Rica, the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, and Panama.[6] It dwells at a depth of 10 to 30 m (33 to 98 ft), and lives in large, nonmigratory colonies in clean, sandy substrates. Males can reach a maximum total length of 70 cm (28 in; 2.3 ft).[4]

Galapagos garden eel
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Congridae
Genus: Heteroconger
Species:
H. klausewitzi
Binomial name
Heteroconger klausewitzi
Synonyms[2]
  • Taenioconger klausewitzi Eibl-Eibesfeldt & Köster, 1983

Etymology

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The fish is named in honor of German ichthyologist Wolfgang Klausewitz, who visited the Galápagos Islands where this eel occurs, with the senior author in the 1950s.[7]

More on the eel

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The diet of the Galapagos garden eel consists of zooplankton.[8] Due to its widespread distribution in the eastern Pacific, lack of major threats, and lack of observed population decline, the IUCN redlist currently lists the species as Least Concern.[6]

References

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  1. ^ McCosker, J.E.; Béarez, P.; Lea, R.N. (2010) [errata version of 2017 assessment]. "Heteroconger klausewitzi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T155178A115281326. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T155178A4736742.en. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  2. ^ Synonyms of Heteroconger klausewitzi at www.fishbase.org.
  3. ^ Common names for Heteroconger klausewitzi at www.fishbase.org.
  4. ^ a b Heteroconger klausewitzi at www.fishbase.org.
  5. ^ Eibl-Eibesfeldt, I. and F. Köster 1983 [ref. 21935] Taenioconger klausewitzi, a new garden-eel from the Galapagos. Noticias de Galápagos No. 38: 26-27.
  6. ^ a b Heteroconger klausewitzi at www.fishbase.org.
  7. ^ The Etyfish Project
  8. ^ Food items reported for Heteroconger klausewitzi at www.fishbase.org.
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