Conger

This article is about the genus of eel. For other uses, see Conger (disambiguation). For the Cuban music genre and ensemble, see Conga (music).

Conger (/ˈkɒŋɡər/ KONG-gər) is a genus of marine congrid eels.^[2] It includes some of the largest types of eels, ranging up to two metres (6+1⁄2 feet) or more in length,^[3] 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.

Conger Temporal range: 55–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Early Eocene to Present[1]
Conger oceanicus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Congridae
Subfamily:	Congrinae
Genus:	Conger Oken, 1817
Type species
Muraena conger Linnaeus, 1758
Species
See text.

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.^[4] Their body weight can reach over 57 kilograms (126 pounds).^[5]

Species

• †Conger brevisulcus (Schwarzhans, 1980)
• Conger cinereus Rüppell, 1830 (longfin African conger)
• Conger conger (Linnaeus, 1758) (European conger)
• †Conger davidsmithi (Schwarzhans, 2019)
• Conger erebennus (D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1901) (Anaconger)
• Conger esculentus Poey, 1861 (grey conger)
• Conger japonicus Bleeker, 1879
• Conger jordani Kanazawa, 1958
• Conger macrocephalus Kanazawa, 1958
• Conger marginatus Valenciennes, 1850 (Hawaiian Mustache Conger)
• Conger melanopterus Kideeswaran, D. G. Smith, Deepa Dhas, Ajith Kumar, 2023
• Conger monganius Phillipps, 1932
• Conger myriaster (Brevoort, 1856) (whitespotted conger)
• Conger oceanicus (Mitchill, 1818) (American conger)
• Conger oligoporus Kanazawa, 1958
• Conger orbignianus Valenciennes, 1842 (Argentine conger)
• Conger philippinus Kanazawa, 1958
• †Conger tokoroa Schwarzhans, 2019
• Conger triporiceps Kanazawa, 1958 (manytooth conger)
• Conger verreauxi Kaup, 1856 (southern conger)
• Conger wilsoni (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) (Cape conger)

Formerly Included Species

• Conger anagoides Bleeker, 1853 (sea conger) - now Ariosoma anagoides
• Conger auratus Costa, 1844 (bandtooth conger) - now Ariosoma balearicum

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.^[6]

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 25 m (80 ft). The eel bit a large chunk from his face. The diver reported the creature was more than 1.8 m (6 ft) in length and "about the width of a human thigh".^[7]