Earthworm eel
Encyclopedia
The earthworm eels are a family
(Chaudhuriidae) of small freshwater
eel
-like fish
related to the swamp eel
s and spiny eel
s. The ten known species are literally the size and shape of earthworm
s, thus the family name. While one species, the Burmese spineless eel (Chaudhuria caudata) was reported from the Inle Lake
by Nelson Annandale
in 1918, the others have been only recently reported (since the 1970s), all in the eastern Asia
area, from India
to Korea
.
Neither the dorsal
nor anal fins have spines, and in Nagaichthys and Pillaia they have fused with the caudal fin; in the other genera the caudal is small but separate. The bodies have no scales. The few specimens found to date have been no longer than 8 cm, and Nagaichthys filipes is only known to reach 3.1 cm. The eye is small, covered in thick skin.
Almost nothing is known of the habits and biology of the earthworm eels.
The family name "Chaudhuriidae" comes from a Burmese local name for a fish.
Family Synbranchidae
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
(Chaudhuriidae) of small freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
eel
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
-like fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
related to the swamp eel
Swamp eel
The swamp eels are a family of freshwater eel-like fishes of the worldwide tropics.-Description:...
s and spiny eel
Spiny eel
The name spiny eel is used to describe members of two different families of fish: the freshwater Mastacembelidae of Asia and Africa, and the marine Notacanthidae. Both are so-named because of their eel-like shape and sturdy fin spines....
s. The ten known species are literally the size and shape of earthworm
Earthworm
Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...
s, thus the family name. While one species, the Burmese spineless eel (Chaudhuria caudata) was reported from the Inle Lake
Inle Lake
Inle Lake is a freshwater lake located in the Nyaungshwe Township of Taunggyi District of Shan State, part of Shan Hills in Myanmar . It is the second largest lake in Myanmar with an estimated surface area of , and one of the highest at an altitude of...
by Nelson Annandale
Nelson Annandale
Thomas Nelson Annandale CIE was a Scottish zoologist, entomologist and anthropologist.The eldest son of Thomas Annandale, the regius professor of clinical surgery at the University of Edinburgh, Nelson was educated at Rugby School, Balliol College, Oxford, and the University of Edinburgh.Annandale...
in 1918, the others have been only recently reported (since the 1970s), all in the eastern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
area, from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
.
Neither the dorsal
Dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...
nor anal fins have spines, and in Nagaichthys and Pillaia they have fused with the caudal fin; in the other genera the caudal is small but separate. The bodies have no scales. The few specimens found to date have been no longer than 8 cm, and Nagaichthys filipes is only known to reach 3.1 cm. The eye is small, covered in thick skin.
Almost nothing is known of the habits and biology of the earthworm eels.
The family name "Chaudhuriidae" comes from a Burmese local name for a fish.
Classification
The family currently includes ten described species in six genera.Family Synbranchidae
- Genus Bihunichthys KottelatMaurice KottelatDr. Maurice Kottelat is a Swiss ichthyologist.In 1976 he entered the University of Neuchâtel where he obtained his diploma in 1987. In 1980 he went to Thailand where he began his field research on Southeast Asiatic and Indonesian fresh water fish species...
& Lim, 1994- Bihunichthys monopteroides KottelatMaurice KottelatDr. Maurice Kottelat is a Swiss ichthyologist.In 1976 he entered the University of Neuchâtel where he obtained his diploma in 1987. In 1980 he went to Thailand where he began his field research on Southeast Asiatic and Indonesian fresh water fish species...
& Lim, 1994
- Bihunichthys monopteroides Kottelat
- Genus Chaudhuria AnnandaleNelson AnnandaleThomas Nelson Annandale CIE was a Scottish zoologist, entomologist and anthropologist.The eldest son of Thomas Annandale, the regius professor of clinical surgery at the University of Edinburgh, Nelson was educated at Rugby School, Balliol College, Oxford, and the University of Edinburgh.Annandale...
, 1918- Burmese Spineless Eel, (Chaudhuria caudata) AnnandaleNelson AnnandaleThomas Nelson Annandale CIE was a Scottish zoologist, entomologist and anthropologist.The eldest son of Thomas Annandale, the regius professor of clinical surgery at the University of Edinburgh, Nelson was educated at Rugby School, Balliol College, Oxford, and the University of Edinburgh.Annandale...
, 1918 - Chaudhuria fusipinnis KottelatMaurice KottelatDr. Maurice Kottelat is a Swiss ichthyologist.In 1976 he entered the University of Neuchâtel where he obtained his diploma in 1987. In 1980 he went to Thailand where he began his field research on Southeast Asiatic and Indonesian fresh water fish species...
& Britz, 2000 - Chaudhuria ritvae Britz, 2010
- Burmese Spineless Eel, (Chaudhuria caudata) Annandale
- Genus Chendol KottelatMaurice KottelatDr. Maurice Kottelat is a Swiss ichthyologist.In 1976 he entered the University of Neuchâtel where he obtained his diploma in 1987. In 1980 he went to Thailand where he began his field research on Southeast Asiatic and Indonesian fresh water fish species...
& Lim, 1994- Chendol keelini KottelatMaurice KottelatDr. Maurice Kottelat is a Swiss ichthyologist.In 1976 he entered the University of Neuchâtel where he obtained his diploma in 1987. In 1980 he went to Thailand where he began his field research on Southeast Asiatic and Indonesian fresh water fish species...
& Lim, 1994 - Chendol lubricus KottelatMaurice KottelatDr. Maurice Kottelat is a Swiss ichthyologist.In 1976 he entered the University of Neuchâtel where he obtained his diploma in 1987. In 1980 he went to Thailand where he began his field research on Southeast Asiatic and Indonesian fresh water fish species...
& Lim, 1994
- Chendol keelini Kottelat
- Genus Garo Yazdani & Talwar, 1981
- Garo Spineless EelGaro spineless eelThe Garo spineless eel, Garo khajuriai, is a species of earthworm eel endemic to India. It belongs to the monotypic genus Garo. It is demersal and lives in fresh water-Distribution:...
, (Garo khajuriai) (Talwar, Yazdani & Kundu, 1977)
- Garo Spineless Eel
- Genus Nagaichthys KottelatMaurice KottelatDr. Maurice Kottelat is a Swiss ichthyologist.In 1976 he entered the University of Neuchâtel where he obtained his diploma in 1987. In 1980 he went to Thailand where he began his field research on Southeast Asiatic and Indonesian fresh water fish species...
& Lim, 1991- Nagaichthys filipes - KottelatMaurice KottelatDr. Maurice Kottelat is a Swiss ichthyologist.In 1976 he entered the University of Neuchâtel where he obtained his diploma in 1987. In 1980 he went to Thailand where he began his field research on Southeast Asiatic and Indonesian fresh water fish species...
& Lim, 1991
- Nagaichthys filipes - Kottelat
- Genus Pillaia Yazdani, 1972
- Hillstream Spineless Eel, (Pillaia indica) Yazdani, 1972
- Pillaia kachinica - KullanderSven O. KullanderSven Oscar Kullander is a Swedish biologist specialised in ichthyology.He primarily researches cichlids – notably the genus Apistogramma and the Cichlasoma-complex – and other tropical fresh water fishes....
, Britz & Fang, 2000