Anguilla bengalensis

{{Short description|Species of fish}}

{{Speciesbox

| name =

| image= Anguilla bengalensis Day 168.jpg

| image2=Anguilla bengalensis bengalensis.jpg

| image2_caption= A. b. bengalensis

| status = NT

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Pike, C. |author2=Crook, V. |author3=Jacoby, D. |author4=Gollock, M. |date=2020 |title=Anguilla bengalensis |volume=2020 |page=e.T61668607A176497430 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T61668607A176497430.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}

| taxon = Anguilla bengalensis

| authority = (J. E. Gray, 1831)

| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies

| subdivision = A. b. bengalensis
A. b. labiata

| synonyms_ref = [http://fishbase.mnhn.fr/Nomenclature/SynonymsList.php?ID=11700&SynCode=34780&GenusName=Anguilla&SpeciesName=nebulosa Synonyms of Anguilla nebulosa] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308071220/http://fishbase.mnhn.fr/Nomenclature/SynonymsList.php?ID=11700&SynCode=34780&GenusName=Anguilla&SpeciesName=nebulosa |date=2016-03-08 }} at www.fishbase.org.

| synonyms = * Anguilla nebulosa nebulosa McClelland, 1844

• Anguilla elphinstonei Sykes, 1839
• Muraena maculata (non Lacepède, 1800)
• Anguilla bengalensis (non Gray, 1831)

}}

The mottled eel{{Cite web | url=http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Anguilla_nebulosa | title=Long-finned eel (Anguilla nebulosa) longevity, ageing, and life history}} (Anguilla bengalensis), also known as the African mottled eel, the Indian longfin eel, the Indian mottled eel, the long-finned eel or the river eel,[http://fishbase.mnhn.fr/comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=11700&GenusName=Anguilla&SpeciesName=nebulosa&StockCode=12026 Common names for Anguilla nebulosa] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310235533/http://fishbase.mnhn.fr/comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=11700&GenusName=Anguilla&SpeciesName=nebulosa&StockCode=12026 |date=2016-03-10 }} at www.fishbase.org. is a demersal, catadromous{{Cite web |title=Mottled eel (Anguilla nebulosa) - Pictures and facts - Fish @ thewebsiteofeverything.com |url=https://thewebsiteofeverything.com/animals/fish/Anguilliformes/Anguillidae/Anguilla-nebulosa |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=thewebsiteofeverything.com}} eel in the family Anguillidae.[http://fishbase.mnhn.fr/summary/Anguilla-nebulosa.html Anguilla nebulosa] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130412182151/http://fishbase.mnhn.fr/summary/Anguilla-nebulosa.html |date=2013-04-12 }} at www.fishbase.org. It was described by John McClelland in 1844.McClelland, J., 1844 (5 July) [ref. 2928]

Apodal fishes of Bengal. Calcutta Journal of Natural History v. 5 (no. 18): 151-226, Pls. 5-14. It is a tropical, freshwater eel which is known from East Africa, Bangladesh, Andaman Islands, Mozambique, Malawi, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, and Indonesia and recently from Madagascar.{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1038/179594a0|pmid = 13418745|title = First Record of the Elver of the African Eel Anguilla nebulosa labiata Peters|journal = Nature|volume = 179|issue = 4559|pages = 594–5|year = 1957|last1 = Frost|first1 = Winifred E.|author2 = IMAMURA K|bibcode = 1957Natur.179..594F|s2cid = 4298572|doi-access = free}} The eels spend most of their lives in freshwater at a depth range of 3–10 metres, but migrate to the Indian Ocean to breed. Males can reach a maximum total length of 121 centimetres and a maximum weight of 7,000 grams. The eels feed primarily off of benthic crustaceans, mollusks, finfish and worms.[https://archive.today/20130412212429/http://fishbase.mnhn.fr/TrophicEco/FoodItemsList.php?vstockcode=12026&genus=Anguilla&species=nebulosa Food items reported for Anguilla nebulosa] at www.fishbase.org.

Even though widely distributed, the Mottled eel was listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Redlist as of 2019.{{cite iucn |author=Pike, C. |author2=Crook, V. |author3=Gollock, M. |author4=Jacoby, D. |year=2019 |title=Anguilla bengalensis |volume=2019 |page=e.T61668607A96227813 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T61668607A96227813.en |access-date=15 January 2020}} Although the eels are too large for use in aquariums, they are commercial in subsistence fisheries.

The exact classification of the species was a debate in recent times, where some major fish websites (ex. Fish Base) classified the species under the name A. nebulosa. But according to the IUCN Red List 2015 version, the fish species should be classified as A. bengalensis with some subspecies.{{cite iucn |author1=Pike, C. |author2=Crook, V. |author3=Gollock, M. |author4=Jacoby, D. |year=2019 |title=Anguilla bengalensis |volume=2019 |page=e.T61668607A96227813 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T61668607A96227813.en |access-date=9 January 2020}}