Author: (Günther, 1870)

Taenioconger longissimus (Günther, 1870)

Diagnosis: body extremely elongate, scaleless, compressed in caudal portion (posterior two-thirds of body). Eye large. Anterior nostril at bottom of a depression of upper lip flange, close to median line at tip of snout; posterior nostril a small oval pore between anterior nostril and upper edge of eye. Mouth short, oblique; rictus at level of anterior edge of eye; lips broad, lower jaw prominent. Teeth conical and sharp, straight or slightly curved; in both jaws in bands anteriorly, a single row posteriorly; on vomer, more or less cardiform anteriorly, biserial posteriorly. Gill openings lateral. Dorsal and anal fins very low, their finrays segmented; pectoral fins minute, pelvic fins absent. Lateral 1: 50-54 preanal pores; no supra-temporal pore. Vertebrae: total 166-167. Colour: dark greyish-brown. Size: to 60 cm.

Habitat: benthic on the shelf, burrowing in littoral sandy bottoms at 15-17 m, forming dense colonies (2-11 individuals per m2) covering large areas; when not disturbed, animals keep about one-third of body vertically out of their burrows and curved smoothly against the current but quickly withdraw when disturbed; retreat into their burrows during the night. Food: pelagic prey and small benthic fauna (prosobranch molluscs, crustaceans, decapod macrurans, copepods), also eggs. Reproduction: spawning probably in warm season; leptocephali described in the Gulf of Guinea, hatching during warm hydrological season, their growth fast, larval life 6-8 months.

Distribution: Madeira and tropical eastern Atlantic.

Eggs, larvae and youngs stages. No data.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Superclass Gnathostomata
Class Osteichthyes
Order Anguilliformes
Family Congridae
Genus Taenioconger
Species Taenioconger longissimus

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Synonym of Heteroconger longissimus Günther, 1870

Scientific synonyms and common names

Taenioconger longissimus (Günther, 1870)

Synonyms:

?Nystatichthys halis (Bohlke, 1957)

Heteroconger longissimus Günther, 1870, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., 8: 45 (Lanzarote).
Heteroconger longissimus: Maul 1949: 145 Bauchot et Bassot, 1958: 258.


Common name:

garden conger [En]

Bauchot, M. L.; Bassot, J. M. 1958. Sur Heteroconger lingissimus Glnther (Teleosteen Anguilliforme) et quelques aspects de sa biologie. Bull. Mus. natn. Hist. Nat. Paris, 2e ser. 30, n° 3: 258-261.

Günther, A. 1870. Catalogue of the fishes in the British Museum. 8. Catalogue of the Physostomi containing the families Gymnotidae, Symbranchidae, Muraenidae, Pegasidae and of the Lophobranchii, Plectognathi, Dipnoi, Ganoidei, Chondropterygii, Cyclostomata, Leptocardii in the collection of the British Museum. London, xxv+549 pp.

Maul, G. E. 1949. Lista sistematica dos Peixes assinalados nos mares da Madeira, Funchal: pp. 135-181.

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