Japanese eel
Anguilla sp.
Anguilla japonica
Anguilla japonica
Where is it found?
Live in freshwater rivers and estuaries but migrate to the ocean to spawn
Diet and foraging method
Key adaptations
Anguilla eels have an streamlined, elongated body shape to make them efficient at swimming long distances. They also have an in-built compass to help them navigate to their spawning grounds.
Social organisation and mating system
N/A
Did you know that...?
Japanese eels undertake a long migration, thousands of miles from their freshwater adult habitat to the sea to spawn.
Taxonomy
Picture credits:
Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
"Anguilla japonica" by opencage - http://opencage.info/pics/large_14405.asp. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anguilla_japonica.jpg#/media/File:Anguilla_japonica.jpg
"Eel in Vietnam" by Peter van der Sluijs - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eel_in_Vietnam.jpg#/media/File:Eel_in_Vietnam.jpg
"Anguilla japonica 1856" by Brevoort, James Carson, 1818-1887 - Notes on some figures of Japanese fish : taken from recent specimens by the artists of the U. S. Japan expedition. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anguilla_japonica_1856.jpg#/media/File:Anguilla_japonica_1856.jpg
"Anguilla japonica" by opencage - http://opencage.info/pics/large_14405.asp. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anguilla_japonica.jpg#/media/File:Anguilla_japonica.jpg
"Eel in Vietnam" by Peter van der Sluijs - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eel_in_Vietnam.jpg#/media/File:Eel_in_Vietnam.jpg
"Anguilla japonica 1856" by Brevoort, James Carson, 1818-1887 - Notes on some figures of Japanese fish : taken from recent specimens by the artists of the U. S. Japan expedition. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anguilla_japonica_1856.jpg#/media/File:Anguilla_japonica_1856.jpg