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Anguilla labiata (Peters, 1852)

African mottled eel
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Anguilla labiata   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Anguilla labiata (African mottled eel)
Anguilla labiata
Picture by FAO

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) > Anguillidae (Freshwater eels)
Etymology: Anguilla: Latin, anguilla, .-ae = eel (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Peters.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; catadromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: Kenya to South Africa (Ref. 3506), uncommon south of the Save River (Ref. 7248, 52193). Also Reunion and Mauritius (Ref. 33390). Dominant eel species in the Zambezi system and farther north in East Africa (Ref. 52193).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 175 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 48660); max. published weight: 20.6 kg (Ref. 52193); max. reported age: 15 years (Ref. 48660)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Migratory species which breeds in the ocean (Ref. 52331), it requires rivers and oceans (Ref. 30558). Young fish migrate upstream with a continued feeding mode, especially on invertebrates found on rocks and logs washed by fast moving waters (Ref. 30558). They inhabit various niches in a river system (Ref. 13337) and penetrate far inland, surmounting formidable barriers in its upstream migration, including the Kariba and Cahora Bassa dams (Ref. 52193). Adults need moving water to migrate back to the ocean, especially after heavy rains (Ref. 30558). Their food consists of crabs, frogs and insects (Ref. 30558), and even fish, including trout in the streams of the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe (Ref. 2478, 52193). Caught with various types of nets.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Skelton, P.H., 1993. A complete guide to the freshwater fishes of southern Africa. Southern Book Publishers. 388 p. (Ref. 7248)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
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Ecology
Ecology
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Length-weight rel.
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References

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 25 - 28.7, mean 27.1 °C (based on 306 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00074 (0.00039 - 0.00139), b=3.18 (3.02 - 3.34), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.8   ±0.7 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tmax=15).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.