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Anguilla labiata (Peters, 1852)

Description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0.

Common Names

No common names available.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Anguilliformes

Family: Anguillidae

Genus: Anguilla

Species: Anguilla labiata (Peters, 1852)

Climate Zone

  • Tropical

    • Location

  • Africa: Kenya to South Africa (Ref. 3506), uncommon south of the Save River (Ref. 7248, 52193). Also Reunion and Mauritius (Ref. 33390). Dominant eel species in the Zambezi system and farther north in East Africa (Ref. 52193).

    • Biology

    Migratory species which breeds in the ocean (Ref. 52331), it requires rivers and oceans (Ref. 30558). Young fish migrate upstream with a continued feeding mode, especially on invertebrates found on rocks and logs washed by fast moving waters (Ref. 30558). They inhabit various niches in a river system (Ref. 13337) and penetrate far inland, surmounting formidable barriers in its upstream migration, including the Kariba and Cahora Bassa dams (Ref. 52193). Adults need moving water to migrate back to the ocean, especially after heavy rains (Ref. 30558). Their food consists of crabs, frogs and insects (Ref. 30558), and even fish, including trout in the streams of the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe (Ref. 2478, 52193). Caught with various types of nets.

    Habitat

    freshwater