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conger

{{Short description|Genus of fishes}}

{{About|the genus of eel|other uses|Conger (disambiguation)|the Cuban music genre and ensemble|Conga (music)}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|55|0}}
Early Eocene to Present{{cite journal

|last=skjeolks

|first=Jack

|title=A compendium of fossil marine animal genera

|journal=Bulletins of American Paleontology

|volume=364

|page=560

|year=2002

|url=http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class

|access-date=2007-12-25

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220223520/http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class

|archive-date=2009-02-20

}}

| image = Conger oceanicus.jpg

| image_caption = Conger oceanicus

| taxon = Conger

| authority = Oken, 1817

| type_species = Muraena conger

| type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = See text.

}}

Conger ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɒ|ŋ|g|ər}} {{respell|KONG|gər}}) is a genus of marine congrid eels.{{FishBase genus | genus = Conger | month = June| year = 2011}}

It includes some of the largest types of eels, ranging up to {{convert|2|m|ft|frac=2|abbr=off|spell=in}} or more in length,{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/14/giant-conger-eel-caught-plymouth-fishermen|title = Giant conger eel caught by Plymouth fishermen|date = 14 May 2015}} in the case of the European conger. Large congers have often been observed by divers during the day in parts of the Mediterranean Sea, and both European and American congers are sometimes caught by fishermen along the European and North American Atlantic coasts.

The life histories of most conger eels are poorly known. Based on collections of their small leptocephalus larvae, the American conger eel has been found to spawn in the southwestern Sargasso Sea, close to the spawning areas of the Atlantic freshwater eels.

"Conger" or "conger eel" is sometimes included in the common names of species of the family Congridae, including members of this genus.

Description

Congers have wide mouths with sturdy teeth, usually a variant of gray or black in coloration. They have no scales.{{Cite web |title=conger eel {{!}} fish {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/conger-eel |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}} Their body weight can reach over {{convert|57|kg|lb|abbr=off}}.{{Cite web |title=What is a Conger Eel? (with pictures) |url=http://www.allthingsnature.org/what-is-a-conger-eel.htm |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=All Things Nature |language=en-US}}

Species

=Formerly Included Species=

Fishing

Fishing for congers was first recorded in the 12th century. The Norman taxation Pipe Roll recorded two éperquerie on Guernsey and one on Sark. These were designated places where congers were dried.{{cite book |last=Lempriére |first=Raoul |title=History of the Channel Islands |year=1974 |publisher=Robert Hale Ltd |isbn=978-0709142522 |page=34}}

One species of the conger eel, Conger myriaster, is an important food fish in East Asia. It is often served as sushi.

Behaviour

Congers are predators and can attack humans. In July 2013, a diver was attacked by a European conger eel in Killary Harbour, Ireland, at a depth of {{convert|25|m|ft|round=5|abbr=on}}. The eel bit a large chunk from his face. The diver reported the creature was more than {{convert|1.8|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in length and "about the width of a human thigh".{{cite journal

| last = Dowling

| first = Edna

| title = Diver 'felt like a rag doll' in frenzied conger eel attack

| journal = Irish Independent

| date = 13 July 2013

| url = http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/diver-felt-like-a-rag-doll-in-frenzied-conger-eel-attack-29416991.html

| access-date = 2013-07-13 }}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category}}

  • [http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxon=Conger BOLDSystems: Genus Conger]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q137144}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Congrinae

Category:Extant Eocene first appearances

Category:Taxa named by Lorenz Oken

{{congridae-stub}}