Macrognathus

Macrognathus is a genus of eel-like fish of the family Mastacembelidae of the order Synbranchiformes.

Macrognathus
Peacock Eel (M. siamensis)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Synbranchiformes
Family: Mastacembelidae
Genus: Macrognathus
Lacepède, 1800
Type species
Ophidium aculeatum
Bloch, 1786
Synonyms
  • Rhynchobdella Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801

These fish are distributed throughout most of South and Southeast Asia.[1] Macrognathus species feed on small aquatic insect larvae as well as oligochaetes.[1]

Appearance and anatomy

Most Macrognathus species attain 20–25 cm (8–10 in) in length,[1] but a few surpass this size, with the largest being M. aral at up to 63.5 cm (25 in).[2]

Macrognathus are mostly similar to Mastacembelus. However, they differ in a more modified rostrum, which may be slightly to significantly larger and longer than those found in Mastacembelus. This serves not only to find food but also to help gather food.[1]

In the aquarium

A number of species of this genus are popular aquarium fish. These include the lesser spiny eel, Macrognathus aculeatus, the spotfinned spiny eel, Macrognathus siamensis, as well as others.

Species

According to FishBase, there are currently 25 recognized species in this genus.[2] According to Catalog of Fishes, one of these, M. malabaricus, belongs in the genus Mastacembelus instead of Macrognathus and another, M. taeniagaster, is considered a junior synonym of M. circumcinctus.[3]

References
  1. Roberts, Tyson R. (1980). "A Revision of the Asian Mastacembelid Fish Genus Macrognathus". Copeia. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. 1980 (3): 385–391. doi:10.2307/1444512. JSTOR 1444512.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2014). Species of Macrognathus in FishBase. April 2014 version.
  3. Eschmeyer, W.N.; R. Fricke; R. van der Laan (14 May 2018). "Catalog of Fishes". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  4. Plamoottil, M. & Abraham, N.P. (2014): Macrognathus albus (order: Synbranchiformes; family: Mastacembelidae), a new fish species from Kerala, India. International Journal of Pure and Applied Zoology, 2 (2): 100-105.
  5. Plamoottil, M. & Abraham, N.P. (2014): Macrognathus fasciatus (Synbranchiformes; Mastacembelidae) - a new fish species from Kerala, India. Journal of Experimental Zoology, India, 17 (1): 49-54.
  6. Pethiyagoda, R.; A. Silva; K. Maduwage; L. Kariyawasam (2008). "The Sri Lankan Five-eyed Spiny Eel, Macrognathus pentophthalmos (Teleostei: Mastacembelidae), and its enigmatic decline". Zootaxa. 1931: 37–48. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1931.1.3.
  7. Arunkumar, L. (2016). "Macrognathus siangensis, a new spiny eel from Brahmaputra basin, Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India (Teleostei: Synbranchiformes)". Journal of Research in Biology. 6 (3): 2003–2012.


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