EELS

CONGER EEL

Conger conger

The Conger Eel is greyish-blue in colour, cylindrical and can grow over 2m (6ft 8in) in length. It has a scaleless, snake-like body with a single long dorsal fin, which merges into the tail and anal fins. It has large strong jaws and enjoys a diet of crustaceans and small fish. Ecology: The Conger Eel is common throughout the entire region and is an inquisitive fish, tending to live in caverns or rocky crevices. It is also found regularly on shipwrecks where there is always an abundance of long, fish-shaped pipes to hide in. Little is known of its breeding habits, but it is known to migrate into deep-water spawning grounds where several thousand eggs are laid by each fish. Similar in ecology to the Common Eel Anguilla anguilla, the young take two to three years to return to the inshore habitat.

SERPENT EEL

Ophisunus serpens

Ovoid in shape, the species grows to around 45cm (1ft 6in) long and has a light tan body with numerous brown spots at the front of the head. The eyes are close together at the front of the snout, which is quite long with a sharp teeth-filled jaw. Ecology: This quite rare fish hides under the sand during day and pokes its head out at night time, when it lies in wait for passing food species, such as small shrimps and fish.

MORAY EEL

Muraena helena

The Mediterranean Moray Eel can grow over 1.50m (5ft) and is one of the favourite fish for divers to find. The species is characterized by having quite a small head, brown in colour, and tan spots, which develop into broader golden markings on the flanks of the body. It has a long dorsal and anal fin, which merge into the rounded tail with no pectoral fins. The outer edge of the fin is spotted with either white or gold colours. Ecology: Occurring on shallow reefs and wrecks all round the coast, this species tends to come out at night to feed and will hide in a protective hole during the day. It usually has a few symbiotic shrimps also living in the same hole, which keep the fish clean of parasites.