Macrognathus
| Macrognathus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Peacock Eel (M. siamensis) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Synbranchiformes |
| Family: | Mastacembelidae |
| Genus: | Macrognathus Lacepède, 1800 |
| Type species | |
| Ophidium aculeatum Bloch, 1786
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Macrognathus is a genus of eel-like fish of the family Mastacembelidae of the order Synbranchiformes.
These fish are distributed throughout most of South and Southeast Asia.[1] Macrognathus species feed on small aquatic insect larvae as well as oligochaetes.[1]
Appearance and anatomy[edit]
Most Macrognathus species attain 20–25 cm (8–10 in) in length,[1] but a few surpass this size, with the largest being M. aral at up to 63.5 cm (25 in).[2]
Macrognathus are mostly similar to Mastacembelus. However, they differ in a more modified rostrum, which may be slightly to significantly larger and longer than those found in Mastacembelus. This serves not only to find food but also to help gather food.[1]
In the aquarium[edit]
A number of species of this genus are popular aquarium fish. These include the lesser spiny eel, Macrognathus aculeatus, the spotfinned spiny eel, Macrognathus siamensis, as well as others.
Species[edit]
According to FishBase, there are currently 25 recognized species in this genus.[2] According to Catalog of Fishes, one of these, M. malabaricus, belongs in the genus Mastacembelus instead of Macrognathus and another, M. taeniagaster, is considered a junior synonym of M. circumcinctus.[3]
- Macrognathus aculeatus (Bloch, 1786) (Lesser spiny eel)
- Macrognathus albus [citation needed]
- Macrognathus aral (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) (Onestripe spiny eel)
- Macrognathus aureus Britz, 2010
- Macrognathus caudiocellatus (Boulenger, 1893)
- Macrognathus circumcinctus (Hora, 1924)
- Macrognathus dorsiocellatus Britz, 2010
- Macrognathus fasciatus Plamoottil & Abraham, 2014[4]
- Macrognathus guentheri (F. Day, 1865) (Malabar spiny eel)
- Macrognathus keithi (Herre, 1940)
- Macrognathus lineatomaculatus Britz, 2010
- Macrognathus maculatus (G. Cuvier, 1832) (Frecklefin eel)
- Macrognathus malabaricus (Jerdon, 1849)
- Macrognathus meklongensis T. R. Roberts, 1986
- Macrognathus morehensis Arunkumar & Tombi Singh, 2000
- Macrognathus obscurus Britz, 2010
- Macrognathus pancalus F. Hamilton, 1822 (Barred spiny eel)
- Macrognathus pavo Britz, 2010
- Macrognathus pentophthalmos (Gronow, 1854) (extinct?)[5]
- Macrognathus semiocellatus T. R. Roberts, 1986
- Macrognathus siamensis (Günther, 1861) (Peacock eel)
- Macrognathus siangensis Arunkumar, 2016[6]
- Macrognathus taeniagaster (Fowler, 1935)
- Macrognathus tapirus Kottelat & Widjanarti, 2005
- Macrognathus zebrinus (Blyth, 1858) (Zebra spiny eel)
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Roberts, Tyson R. (1980). "A Revision of the Asian Mastacembelid Fish Genus Macrognathus". Copeia. 1980 (3): 385–391. doi:10.2307/1444512. JSTOR 1444512.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2014). Species of Macrognathus in FishBase. April 2014 version.
- ^ Eschmeyer, W.N.; R. Fricke; R. van der Laan (14 May 2018). "Catalog of Fishes". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ Plamoottil, M. & Abraham, N.P. (2014): Macrognathus fasciatus (Synbranchiformes; Mastacembelidae) - a new fish species from Kerala, India. Journal of Experimental Zoology, India, 17 (1): 49-54.
- ^ Pethiyagoda, R.; A. Silva; K. Maduwage; L. Kariyawasam (2008). "The Sri Lankan Five-eyed Spiny Eel, Macrognathus pentophthalmos (Teleostei: Mastacembelidae), and its enigmatic decline". Zootaxa. 1931: 37–48. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1931.1.3.
- ^ Arunkumar, L. (2016). "Macrognathus siangensis, a new spiny eel from Brahmaputra basin, Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India (Teleostei: Synbranchiformes)". Journal of Research in Biology. 6 (3): 2003–2012.
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