Pacific Long Finned Eel

The only species that can be either variegated or plain-colored. Mottled individuals most closely resemble Anguilla celebensis and A. interioris in having broad, undivided tooth bands, but their ranges do not overlap. Plain-colored individuals most closely resemble A. japonica and A. borneensis, but those species both geographically distant. A. obscura is also plain-colored but has a shorter dorsal fin (Ref. 9828). The skin is grey to yellowish and more or less spotted with brown or black. It can be sometimes uniformly brownish red on the flanks and the back. The belly is white. Young specimens are grey and do not have spots (Ref.48622).

Catadromous. Migrating from freshwater to the sea to spawn, e.g., European eels. Subdivision of diadromous. Migrations should be cyclical and predictable and cover more than 100 km.

Vertebrae: 110 - 114

Found in rocky pools, often in coastal streams (Ref. 2847). No separate statistics available (Ref. 9828). The maximum weight (9,000 g) refers to the length (165 cm TL) of a female individual (Ref. 48622).

fisheries: commercial

The Polynesian longfinned eel (Anguilla megastoma), also known as the Pacific long-finned eel, is an eel in the family Anguillidae. It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856. It is a tropical eel found in freshwaters in the Pacific, including Sulawesi, Indonesia; the Society Islands, and Pitcairn. The eels spend most of their lives in freshwater, but migrate to the ocean to breed. Males can reach a maximum total length of 100 centimetres, while females can reach a maximum TL of 165 centimetres and a maximum weight of 9,000 grams.

The Polynesian longfinned eel is commercial in fisheries.