Japanese eel
Anguilla sp.
Anguilla japonica
Anguilla japonica
Where is it found?
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Live in freshwater rivers and estuaries but migrate to the ocean to spawn
Diet and foraging method
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Hunt and scavenge for food
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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
