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The name spiny eel is used to describe members of two different families of fish: the freshwater Mastacembelidae of Asia and Africa, and the marine (and generally deep sea) Notacanthidae. Both are so-named because of their eel -like shape and sturdy fin spines.
Notacanthidae, the deep-sea spiny eels, are a family of fishes found worldwide below 125 m (410 ft), and as deep as 3,500 m (11,500 ft). Their bodies are greatly elongated, though more tapered than in true eels. The caudal fin is small or nonexistent, while the anal fin is lengthy, as long as half of the total body length.
Spiny eels generally inhabit soft-bottomed habitats in fresh and occasionally brackish water. Some species burrow in the substrate during the day or for certain months and have been found buried in soil in drying periods. [4] These fish have an eel-like body. The largest species can reach a maximum length of 1 m (3.3 ft). [3]
Mastacembelus is a genus of many species of spiny eel fish from the family Mastacembelidae.They are native to Africa (c. 45 species) and Asia (c. 15 species). [4] Most are found in rivers and associated systems (even in rapids [5]), but there are also species in other freshwater habitats and a particularly rich radiation is found in the Lake Tanganyika basin with 15 species (14 endemic).
The fire eel (Mastacembelus erythrotaenia) is a relatively large species of spiny eel. This omnivorous freshwater fish is native to Southeast Asia but is also found in the aquarium trade. [ 1 ] [ 3 ] Although it has declined locally (especially in parts of Cambodia and Thailand) due to overfishing , it remains common overall.
The snub-nosed spiny eel (Notacanthus chemnitzii) is a member of the family Notacanthidae, the deep-sea spiny eels, which are not true eels (Anguilliformes).The snub-nosed spiny eel exists in waters all over the world, except in the tropics, [1] ranging in color from light tan to bluish grey in small ones to dark brown in large ones. [1]
The shortfin spiny eel (Notacanthus bonaparte), also called Bonaparte's spiny eel, is a member of the family Notacanthidae, the deep-sea spiny eels, ...
The Malawi spinyeel (Mastacembelus shiranus) is a species of fish in the family Mastacembelidae from Africa. It is endemic to the Lake Malawi basin, including the main lake itself, Lake Malombe and the lower Shire River.