Creature Feature – Japanese Eel
It’s Creature Feature Friday! This week is the letter ‘J’, and today’s featured creature is the Japanese Eel.
This is a species of anguillid eel found in Asia, and is a delicacy commonly referred to as ‘Unagi’
Taxonomy
Scientific Name: Anguilla japonica
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Anguillidae
Genus: Anguilla
Japanese Eel Fact File
Size: Individuals can grow up to 1.5m and weigh up to 1.9 kg
Distribution: This species can be found in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, and the Northern Philippines
Diet: Eels are predatory fish with carnivorous diets – this species eat crustaceans, insects, and fish
Behaviour: Like all the eels of the genus Anguilla and the family Anguillidae, it is catadromous, meaning it spawns in the sea but lives parts of its life in freshwater
IUCN Status: Endangered. Top threats include overfishing, habitat loss and changing ocean conditions which affect spawning
