Macrognathus siamensis | |
---|---|
Peacock eel from Nakhon Phanom, Thailand | |
Peacock spiny eel from Miami-Dade County, Florida | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Synbranchiformes |
Family: | Mastacembelidae |
Genus: | Macrognathus |
Species: | M. siamensis
|
Binomial name | |
Macrognathus siamensis (
Günther, 1861)
| |
Synonyms [2] | |
|
Macrognathus siamensis, the peacock eel or spotfin spiny eel, is a spiny eel found in freshwater habitats throughout Southeast Asia. They are commercially important as food and aquarium fish. [1] [2]
The peacock eel is native to the Mekong and Chao Phraya basins, which make up the countries of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. [3] They are mostly found in slow-moving backwaters that have a sandy or muddy bottom, such as swamps, canals, and ponds. [2]
There is an invasive population of peacock eels in the Everglades region of Florida, most likely being released due to the aquarium trade. [3] [4] [5] The eels were first discovered in the C-111 canal in 2002, and in 2004 were also found to inhabit mangrove swamps further south. [6]
These fish lack scales and require a soft substrate to burrow into, such as sand, mud, or silt. They breed during the wet season when adjacent forests flood. Larvae reach 8 cm (2 in) in length in approximately 60 days after hatching. [7]
This eel can grow up to 30 cm (12 in) in standard length, [2] although 20 cm (8 in) is more common. [3] Males and females are hard to tell apart through external means. [8]
Their main diet is small crustaceans, annelids, and fish. [3]