East Asian gill slit hall
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East Asian gill slit eel ( Monopterus albus ) |
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| Monopterus albus | ||||||||||||
| ( Zuiew , 1793) |
The East Asian gill-slit eel ( Monopterus albus ) is a freshwater fish that is widespread from India , across all of Southeast Asia , China, Japan to Indonesia . It inhabits muddy water floors in calm river sections, canals, ponds, flooded rice fields and river mouths. It has been observed as an invasive species in the United States since the late 20th century .
features
The East Asian gill slot hall is a maximum of one meter long. The fish are elongated, eel-like, without scales, round in cross section at the front and laterally flattened at the back. Paired fins (pectoral and pelvic fins) are missing. The dorsal, caudal and anal fins have grown together to form a continuous fin edge, which, however, only looks like a low fold of skin. The head is short and broad, the large mouth, surrounded by thick lips, is deeply split. The eyes are small. Characteristic are the gills that have grown together under the throat and form a continuous, transverse gill slot there. The gill cavity is divided into two by a septum. The gills themselves are reduced to three gill arches. Young East Asian gill-slit eels are reddish brown to light brown on their backs and have small dark brown spots. Your belly is yellowish. Adult animals are marbled in a single color olive-brown or olive-brown or yellow-brown on the back. Their underside is white.
Way of life
The East Asian Kiemenschlitzaal lives in medium-sized rivers, in canals, estuaries, ponds, swamps and rice fields, even in waters that only carry water at times. During the dry season, it survives in the mud at the deepest points of the dried-up waters. The nocturnal fish feed mainly on fish, worms, crustaceans and other mostly larger aquatic animals. He also consumes detritus . East Asian gill-slit eels are proterandric hermaphrodites ; That is, they change sex in the course of their life and are first male, then female. For reproduction, the males build large, free-floating foam nests into which the fertilized eggs are spit after the act of spawning. The male guards the eggs and probably also the fry for the first few days.
use
The gill-slit eel is caught in its area of distribution and used for human consumption. Once caught, it survives out of the water for a long time as long as its skin is kept moist. Its meat is considered excellent.
Individual evidence
literature
- Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 .
Web links
- East Asian gill slit hall on Fishbase.org (English)
- Monopterus albus inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Endangered Species . Posted by: Dahanukar, N., 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2014.