Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 22, 2026

Coloconger

The Colocongridae, the worm eels or short-tail eels, are a family of eels, containing a single genus, Coloconger.

Last revised
Jun 22, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
268 w
Citations
5
Source
Coloconger
Coloconger raniceps
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Suborder: Congroidei
Family: Colocongridae
D. G. Smith, 19761
Genus: Coloconger
Alcock, 1889
Species

See text

The Colocongridae, the worm eels or short-tail eels, are a family of eels, containing a single genus, Coloconger.

Colongrids are found in tropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and West Pacific oceans. They are bottom-dwelling fish, living in waters from 300 to 900 m (980 to 2,950 ft) in depth.2 Compared with other eels, they have relatively short and stubby bodies, with blunt snouts.

Species

The ten known species are:3

See also

See also

References

References

  1. López, J.; Westneat, Mark; Hanel, Reinhold (2007). "The Phylogenetic Affinities of the Mysterious Anguilliform Genera Coloconger and Thalassenchelys as Supported by mTDNA Sequences". Copeia. 2007: 959–966. doi:10.1643/0045-8511(2007)7[959:TPAOTM]2.0.CO;2.
  2. McClosker, John F. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 89. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
  3. Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Coloconger". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  4. "Coloconger maculatus sp. nov., a species of short-tail eel from eastern Taiwan (Anguilliformes: Colocongridae)". Zootaxa. 5016 (2): 271–282. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5016.2.7.
  5. "Coloconger saldanhai Quéro 2001". UNIVERSAL FISH CATALOGUE. Archived from the original on 2013-12-15.