Neoconger mucronatus
Ridged Eel
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Anguilliformes (True Eels)
Moringuidae (Spaghetti Eels)
Neoconger
Neoconger mucronatus (Ridged Eel)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Moderately elongate and cylindrical, except tip of tail is slightly compressed, with anus near midlength. Upper jaw extends beyond lower jaw. Snout is 18% to 22%, eye is 3% to 8%, and mouth length is 26% to 35% of head length. Head length is 9% to 11%, predorsal length is 37% to 54%, and preanal length is 48% to 53% of TL. Jaw teeth are of moderate size, conical, recurved at tips, and in one or two series. Intermaxillary teeth are relatively large, in two irregular rows, and continuous with maxillary and vomerine teeth. Vomerine teeth are in single row and extend nearly to posterior end of maxillary teeth. Branchiostegal rays number 18, pectoral fin rays number 15 to 34, and lateral line pores to anus number 21 to 41. Lateral line pores are present on lower jaw and along body to anus. Total vertebrae number 96 to 107, predorsal vertebrae number 32 to 48, preanal vertebrae number 43 to 55, and pre-caudal vertebrae number 49 to 58. Male specimens have larger eyes, longer pectoral fins, and shorter predorsal and preanal lengths than females.
Color is uniform gray to brown, with occasional dark reticulations.
Distribution
Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Soft mud bottoms, depth range 3 to 183 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 302 mm TL
Inhabits offshore banks (Ref. 7251). This area is characterized by predominantly muddy bottoms (Ref. 133039).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-08-09.
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest.
References
Smith and Castle 1972
Hoese and Moore 1977
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Smith 1989b,i
Boschung 1992
Smith, D.G., A.P. Marceniuk, M.M. Rotundo, C.O. Carvalho and R.A. Caires (2024) A review of the genus Neoconger (Anguilliformes: Moringuidae), with the description of a new species. Zootaxa 5492 (1):109-128.
Comments On Neoconger mucronatus