Spotted Garden Eel [Heteroconger hassi]
Description
Spotted Garden Eels are small eels living in large colonies on sandy bottoms. They typically grow to about 40 cm in length, and are characterized by their slender bodies and a distinctive pattern of white spots on a black background. They feed on plankton and small animals carried by the current. When threatened, they retreat into their burrows in the sand.
Taxonomy
| Phylum |
Chordates
Chordata
|
|---|---|
| Class |
Fish
Actinopterygii
|
| Order |
Eels and Morays
Anguilliformes
|
| Family |
Conger Eels
Congridae
|
| Genus |
Heteroconger
Heteroconger
|