Conger
Conger is a genus of marine congrid eels. It includes some of the largest types of eels, ranging up to or more in length, 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 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. Their body weight can reach over.Species
- †Conger brevisulcus Conger cinereus Rüppell, 1830 Conger conger
- †Conger davidsmithi Conger erebennus Conger esculentus Poey, 1861 Conger japonicus Bleeker, 1879Conger jordani Kanazawa, 1958Conger macrocephalus Kanazawa, 1958Conger marginatus Valenciennes, 1850 Conger melanopterus Kideeswaran, D. G. Smith, Deepa Dhas, Ajith Kumar, 2023Conger monganius Phillipps, 1932Conger myriaster Conger oceanicus Conger oligoporus Kanazawa, 1958Conger orbignianus Valenciennes, 1842 Conger philippinus Kanazawa, 1958
- †Conger tokoroa Schwarzhans, 2019Conger triporiceps Kanazawa, 1958 Conger verreauxi Kaup, 1856
- ''Conger wilsoni''
Formerly Included Species
Conger anagoides Bleeker, 1853 - now Ariosoma anagoidesConger auratus Costa, 1844 - now ''Ariosoma balearicum''Fishing
Fishing for congers was first recorded in the 12th century. The Norman taxation Pipe Roll recorded two éperquerie on Guernsey and one on Sark. These were designated places where congers were dried.One species of the conger eel, Conger myriaster, is an important food fish in East Asia. It is often served as sushi.