Country Species Summary

Anguilla bengalensis labiata in Zimbabwe
African mottled eel

Anguilla bengalensis labiata (Peters, 1852)
Family:	Anguillidae (Freshwater eels)	picture (Anben_u1.gif) by FAO
Order:	Anguilliformes (eels and morays)
Class:	Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
FishBase name:	African mottled eel
Max. size:	175 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 48660); max. published weight: 20.0 kg (Ref. 3971); max. reported age: 15 years
Environment:	demersal; catadromous
Climate:	tropical
Global Importance:	fisheries: commercial
Resilience:
Distribution:	Africa: Kenya to South Africa (Ref. 3506); Reunion and Mauritius (Ref. 33390). Uncommon south of the Save River. Dominant in the Zambezi system and farther north in East Africa. Anguilla bengalensis bengalensis is the Indian subspecies (Ref. 3971).
Diagnosis:	Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Anal spines: 0-0. Dorsal fin origin is about midway between pectoral fin and anus. Caudal fin confluent with dorsal and anal fin. Body is mottled with dark brown pigmentation.
Biology:	Migratory species which breeds in the ocean (Ref. 52331), it requires rivers and oceans (Ref. 30558). Young fish migrate upstream with a continued feeding mode, especially on invertebrates found on rocks and logs washed by fast moving waters (Ref. 30558). They inhabit various niches in a river system (Ref. 13337) and penetrate far inland, surmounting formidable barriers in its upstream migration, including the Kariba and Cahora Bassa dams. Adults need moving water to migrate back to the ocean, especially after heavy rains (Ref. 30558). Their food consists of crabs, frogs and insects (Ref. 30558), and even fish, including trout in the streams of the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe (Ref. 2478). Caught with various types of nets
Threatened:	Not Evaluated, see IUCN Red List , (Ref. 36508)
Dangerous:	harmless
Coordinator:
Main Ref:	Skelton, P.H.. 1993. (Ref. 7248)
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Zimbabwe country information
Common names:	African mottled eel	Ref: Bell-Cross, G. and J.L. Minshull, 1988
Status:	native	Ref:
Salinity:	freshwater
Regulations:	no regulations	Ref:
Uses:	no uses
Comments:	Known from Lake Kariba, Middle Zambezi and its larger tributaries on the plateau, Limpopo (Umzingwane River and Inyankuni Dam), Pungwe, Buzi, Upper and Lower Save/Runde systems. Recorded once from the Upper Zambezi when a specimen was trapped at the top of the Falls in the water intake to the Victoria Falls hydroelectric station. The most common eel north of the Save/Runde system.
Country Information:	www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/zi.html
National Fisheries Authority:	www.zamnet.zm/zamnet/alcom/broch.htm
Occurrences:	Occurrences Point map
Main Ref:	Bell-Cross, G. and J.L. Minshull, 1988
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Entered: Torres, Armi G.

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Page created by: Eli, 20.10.03, last modified by Eli, 26.06.07

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		(e.g. 9948)		(e.g. cephalopods)
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