Spotted Garden Eel, Heteroconger hassi (Klausewitz & Eibl-Eibesfeldt 1959)
A Spotted Garden Eel, Heteroconger hassi, in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, February 2009. Source: Karen Willshaw / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial
A pale garden eel covered in small irregular black spots & lines, with two prominent black blotches or spots on the side - one surrounding the gill opening and the second midway along body, The anus is also surrounded by a black blotch. Juveniles are entirely black.
Spotted Garden Eels at Balicasag Island in the Philippines.
Video of Spotted Gardens Eels and Splendid Garden Eels in the Enoshima Aquarium, Japan.
Spotted Garden Eel, Heteroconger hassi (Klausewitz & Eibl-Eibesfeldt 1959)
More Info
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Distribution |
Ningaloo Reef and offshore reefs of Western Australia, to the territory of Cartier Island in the Timor Sea, and the northern Great Barrier Reef to Lady Elliot Island, and reefs in the Coral Sea, Queensland; also Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. Elsewhere, the species is widespread in the tropical, Indo-west-central Pacific - from East Africa to Japan, south to New Caledonia and east to the Pitcairn Islands. Large colonies inhabit sandy and rubble areas in lagoons and sandy slopes where individuals construct burrows. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin 449-540; Anal fin 273-334; Pectoral fin 11-12; Lateral-line pores before anus 59-64; Vertebrae 164-175. Body depth at gill opening ~30-36% HL; dorsal-fin origin just before gill opening. |
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Size |
Maximum length ~ 40 cm TL. |
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Feeding |
Garden eels construct and inhabit permanent burrows. During the day, they rise partially from their burrows to feed on zooplankton drifting by in the current - rapidly retreating when threatened. |
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Biology |
The sexes are separate and fertilisation is external. Although they never fully leave their burrows, potential mates from adjacent burrows reach across to entwine their bodies during spawning. The eggs and leptocephalus larvae are pelagic. |
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Fisheries |
A popular species that is traded in the aquarium industry. |
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Etymology |
The species is named in honour of Hans Hass, the leader of the expedition to the Maldives, where the holotype was collected. |
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Species Citation |
Xarifania hassi Klausewitz & Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1959, Senckenberg. Biolog. 40(3–4): 138, figs 6, 8, 15, 16.Type locality: Addu Atoll, between Gan Island and Fedu Island, Maldive Islands. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2024 |
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Resources |
Spotted Garden Eel, Heteroconger hassi (Klausewitz & Eibl-Eibesfeldt 1959)
References
Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.
Allen, G.R., Erdmann, M.V. & Mongdong, M.U. 2020. Heteroconger guttatus, a new species of garden eel (Pisces: Congridae: Heterocongrinae) from West Papua, Indonesia. Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation 35: 8-17. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3676001
Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21.
Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp.
Castle, P.H.J. 1997. Garden eel leptocephali: characters, generic identification, distribution, and relationships. Bulletin of Marine Science 60(1): 6-22 See ref online
Castle, P.H.J. & Randall, J.E. 1999. Revision of Indo-Pacific garden eels (Congridae: Heterocongrinae), with descriptions of five new species. Indo-Pacific Fishes 30: 1-52 pls I-III
De Schepper, N., De Kegel, B. & Adriaens, D. 2007. Morphological specializations in Heterocongrinae (Anguilliformes: Congridae) related to burrowing and feeding. Journal of Morphology 268(4): 343-356.
Fricke, R., Kulbicki, M. & Wantiez, L. 2011. Checklist of the fishes of New Caledonia, and their distribution in the Southwest Pacific Ocean (Pisces). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Serie A (Biologie) Neue Serie 4: 341-463
Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S.J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Checklist and new records of Christmas Island fishes: the influence of isolation, biogeography and habitat availability on species abundance and community composition. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 184–202 See ref online
Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S .J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Fishes of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands: new records, community composition and biogeographic significance. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 203–219 See ref online
Klausewitz, W. & Eibl-Eibesfeldt, I. 1959. Neue Röhrenaale von den Maldiven und Nikobaren (Pisces, Apodes, Heterocongridae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 40(3–4): 135-153 figs 1-17
Miller, J.M. & Tsukamoto, K. 2004. An introduction to leptocephali biology and identification. Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo. 96 pp.
Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and shore fishes of the South Pacific. New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. 720 pp.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.
Smith, D.G. 1999. Families Colocongridae, Derichthyidae, Muraenesocidae, Nemichtyhyidae, Congridae, Nettastomatidae, Serrivomeridae, Cyematidae, Saccopharyngidae, Eurypharyngidae, Monognathidae. pp. 1670-1697 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 3 1397-2068 pp.
Tighe, K., Smith, D.G. & McCosker, J. 2019. Heteroconger hassi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T198985A2546860. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T198985A2546860.en. Accessed on 02 September 2024.
