Giant leptocephalus

The giant leptocephalus (Coloconger giganteus) is an eel in the family Colocongridae (worm eels/short-tail eels).[2] It was described by Peter Henry John Castle in 1959.[3] It is a marine, deep-water dwelling eel which is distributed worldwide.[2] Usually, true eel larva are 5-10% of the adult's size, and this leptocephalus (newborn eel) measured 1.8 m in length, thus making a theorical eel of 29.4m or so.

Giant leptocephalus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Anguilliformes
Family:
Colocongridae
Genus:
Coloconger
Species:
C. giganteus
Binomial name
Coloconger giganteus
(Castle, 1959)
Synonyms[1]
  • Ascomana giganteus (Castle, 1959)
  • Leptocephalus giganteus Castle, 1959

It is suspected that the larvae from which the species was described belong to a species in the genus Notacanthus. Adults of Notacanthus can be up to 1.2 m, but their larvae are often bigger and can get to 1.8 m, which may be the explanation to this giant glass eel, placed currently in the genus of frog eels.

References
  1. Synonyms of Cologonger giganteus at www.fishbase.org.
  2. Coloconger giganteus at www.fishbase.org.
  3. Castle, P. H. J., 1959 (July) [ref. 11986] A large leptocephalid (Teleostei, Apodes) from off South Westland, New Zealand. The eel was once again spotted off the coast of South Africa, apparently, from estimates, an adult would measure a gigantic 21m long. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand v. 87 (pts 1-2): 179-184.


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