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Anguilla mossambica in Tanzania, United Rep. of
African longfin eel

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Anguilla mossambica   (Peters, 1852)
Family:	Anguillidae (Freshwater eels)			picture (Anmos_u2.gif) by FAO
Order:	Anguilliformes  (eels and morays)
Class:	Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
FishBase name:	African longfin eel
Max. size:	150 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 3506); 120 cm SL (female); max. published weight: 750 g (Ref. 5214); max. published weight: 5,000.0 g; max. reported age: 20 years
Environment:	demersal; catadromous
Climate:	tropical; 25°N - 35°S
Global Importance:	fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial
Resilience:	Very low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (K=0.04)
Distribution:	Western Indian Ocean: east coast rivers of Africa from Kenya south to Cape Agulhas, also Madagascar and other western Indian Ocean islands. Moves well inland. Reported from New Caledonia (Ref. 11889).
Diagnosis:	Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Anal spines: 0-0. Olive to greyish black dorsally, lighter ventrally (Ref. 3971). Caudal fin confluent with dorsal and anal.
Biology:	Migratory species, which breeds in the ocean (Ref. 52331). Inhabits both quiet and fast flowing water (Ref. 13337). Elvers ascend rivers mainly at night and overcome waterfalls and walls of dams with great determination. Adults usually sedentary. Females can attain 120 cm SL and are generally longer and heavier than males (Ref. 48660). Carnivorous, eats dead or living prey but especially fish and crabs. After feeding in fresh water for ten years or more, adults assume a silver breeding dress, the eyes become enlarged and they return to sea to breed. Considered to breed east of Madagascar, but thought to move south of that island on its way to the Mozambique coast and South African rivers (Ref. 13337). Flesh fatty but highly esteemed as smoked or jellied eel (Ref. 5214). Caught with various types of nets (Ref. 4967)
Threatened:	Not Evaluated, see IUCN Red List  , (Ref. 36508)
Dangerous:	harmless
Coordinator:
Main Ref:	Castle, P.H.J.. 1984. (Ref. 3506)
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Tanzania, United Rep. of country information
Common names:	Mkunga		Ref:  Bianchi, G., 1985
Status:	native		Ref:  Skelton, P.H., 1993
Salinity:	freshwater, brackish, marine
Regulations:	no regulations		Ref:
Uses:	no uses
Comments:	Also Ref. 2871.
Country Information:	www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tz.html
National  Fisheries  Authority:	www.isp.msu.edu/AFRICANSTUDIES/PLEA/TAFIRI.HTM
Occurrences:	Occurrences    Point map
Main Ref:	Eccles, D.H., 1992
Update

More information:	Countries FAO areas Occurrences Introductions Ecosystem Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration Predators Ciguatera Fish loss Common names Synonyms Pictures Sounds Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg dev. Larvae Larval dynamics References Growth L-W relationship L-L relationship Length frequencies Recruitment Max. age & size Metabolism Morphology Morphometrics Gill area Brains Vision Collaborators Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Strains Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Diseases Ecotoxicology Processing Speed Swim. type Stamps
	Note: No data are available if label is black .
Tools:	Biogeographic modelling | E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency Wizard | Life-history tool | Point map |
Internet sources:	BiOSC Point Data | CISTI | Google | GOBASE | GenBank ( genome, nucleotide ) | PubMed | Recipes | Scirus | Tree of Life | Zoological Record
	Note: use the Back button of your browser to return to FishBase.
	Modified:  Froese, Rainer	Entered:  Luna, Susan M.

	Ref.:				Glossary
		(e.g. 9948)				(e.g. cephalopods)
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Page created by: Eli, 20.10.03, last modified by Eli, 26.06.07