imported>Dyanega: ICZN Opinion 93 fixed the authorship as belonging to Cuiver

2025-09-24T23:41:07Z

ICZN Opinion 93 fixed the authorship as belonging to Cuiver

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{{Short description|Genus of fishes}}
{{About|the genus of eel|other uses|Conger (disambiguation)|the Cuban music genre and ensemble|Conga (music)}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|55|0}} Early [[Eocene]] to Present<ref>{{cite journal
|last=skjeolks
|first=Jack
|title=A compendium of fossil marine animal genera
|journal=Bulletins of American Paleontology
|volume=364
|page=560
|year=2002
|url=http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class
|access-date=2007-12-25
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220223520/http://strata.ummp.lsa.umich.edu/jack/showgenera.php?taxon=611&rank=class
|archive-date=2009-02-20
}}</ref>
| image = Conger oceanicus.jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Conger oceanicus]]''
| taxon = Conger
| authority = Cuvier, 1817<ref>[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8911077#page/177/mode/1up]</ref>
| type_species = ''[[Conger conger|Muraena conger]]''
| type_species_authority = [[Linnaeus]], 1758
| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
| subdivision = See text.
}}

'''''Conger''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɒ|ŋ|g|ər|audio=en-us-conger.ogg}} {{respell|KONG|gər}}) is a [[genus]] of marine [[congrid]] [[eel]]s.<ref>{{FishBase genus | genus = Conger | month = June| year = 2011}}
</ref> It includes some of the largest types of eels, ranging up to {{convert|2|m|ft|frac=2|abbr=off|spell=in}} or more in length,<ref>{{Cite web| last1=Morris | first1=Steven |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/14/giant-conger-eel-caught-plymouth-fishermen|title = Giant conger eel caught by Plymouth fishermen| work=The Guardian |date = 14 May 2015}}</ref> 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.

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 Ocean|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=conger eel {{!}} fish {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/conger-eel |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Their body weight can reach over {{convert|57|kg|lb|abbr=off}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is a Conger Eel? (with pictures) |url=http://www.allthingsnature.org/what-is-a-conger-eel.htm |access-date=2022-07-06 |website=All Things Nature |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Species==
* †''[[Conger brevisulcus]]'' ([[Werner Schwarzhans|Schwarzhans]], 1980)
* ''[[Conger cinereus]]'' [[Eduard Rüppell|Rüppell]], 1830 (longfin African conger)
* ''[[European conger|Conger conger]]'' ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]) (European conger)
* †''[[Conger davidsmithi]]'' (Schwarzhans, 2019)
* ''[[Conger erebennus]]'' ([[David Starr Jordan|D. S. Jordan]] & [[John Otterbein Snyder|Snyder]], 1901) (Anaconger)
* ''[[grey conger|Conger esculentus]]'' [[Felipe Poey y Aloy|Poey]], 1861 (grey conger)
* ''[[Conger japonicus]]'' [[Pieter Bleeker|Bleeker]], 1879
* ''[[Conger jordani]]'' Kanazawa, 1958
* ''[[Conger macrocephalus]]'' [[Robert H. Kanazawa|Kanazawa]], 1958
* ''[[Conger marginatus]]'' [[Achille Valenciennes|Valenciennes]], 1850 (Hawaiian Mustache Conger)
* ''[[Conger melanopterus]]'' [[Paramasivam Kideeswaran|Kideeswaran]], [[David G. Smith (ichthyologist)|D. G. Smith]], [[D. S. Deepa Dhas|Deepa Dhas]], [[T.T. Ajith Kumar|Ajith Kumar]], 2023
* ''[[Conger monganius]]'' [[William J. Phillipps|Phillipps]], 1932
* ''[[whitespotted conger|Conger myriaster]]'' ([[James Carson Brevoort|Brevoort]], 1856) (whitespotted conger)
* ''[[Conger oceanicus]]'' ([[Samuel L. Mitchill|Mitchill]], 1818) (American conger)
* ''[[Conger oligoporus]]'' Kanazawa, 1958
* ''[[Conger orbignianus]]'' Valenciennes, 1842 (Argentine conger)
* ''[[Conger philippinus]]'' Kanazawa, 1958
* †''[[Conger tokoroa]]'' Schwarzhans, 2019
* ''[[manytooth conger|Conger triporiceps]]'' Kanazawa, 1958 (manytooth conger)
* ''[[southern conger|Conger verreauxi]]'' [[Johann Jakob Kaup|Kaup]], 1856 (southern conger)
* ''[[Conger wilsoni]]'' ([[Marcus Elieser Bloch|Bloch]] & [[Johann Gottlob Schneider|J. G. Schneider]], 1801) (Cape conger)

===Formerly Included Species===
* ''Conger anagoides'' Bleeker, 1853 (sea conger) - now ''[[sea conger|Ariosoma anagoides]]''
* ''Conger auratus'' Costa, 1844 (bandtooth conger) - now ''[[bandtooth conger|Ariosoma balearicum]]''

==Fishing==
Fishing for congers was first recorded in the 12th century. The [[Pipe rolls|Norman taxation Pipe Roll]] recorded two ''éperquerie'' on [[Guernsey]] and one on [[Sark]]. These were designated places where congers were dried.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lempriére |first=Raoul |title=History of the Channel Islands |year=1974 |publisher=Robert Hale Ltd |isbn=978-0709142522 |page=34}}</ref>

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 [[predator]]s and can attack humans. In July 2013, a diver was attacked by a [[European conger]] eel in [[Killary Harbour]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], at a depth of {{convert|25|m|ft|round=5|abbr=on}}. The eel bit a large chunk from his face. The diver reported the creature was more than {{convert|1.8|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in length and "about the width of a human thigh".<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Dowling
| first = Edna
| title = Diver 'felt like a rag doll' in frenzied conger eel attack
| journal = [[Irish Independent]]
| date = 13 July 2013
| url = http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/diver-felt-like-a-rag-doll-in-frenzied-conger-eel-attack-29416991.html
| access-date = 2013-07-13 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxon=Conger BOLDSystems: Genus Conger]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q137144}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Conger| ]]
[[Category:Congrinae]]
[[Category:Extant Eocene first appearances]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Lorenz Oken]]

{{congridae-stub}}

Conger - Revision history

imported>Dyanega: ICZN Opinion 93 fixed the authorship as belonging to Cuiver