Fish · eel

European eel

Anguilla anguilla

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic A single ocean

Depth

During migration, 200 to 300 m at night and down to about 1,000 m by day

Size

Up to 1.33 m for females, often 35 to 50 cm

Diet

Worms, crustaceans, fish, almost any small aquatic animal

Zone

Sunlit zone · 0 – 200 m

Key facts

• It grows up in the rivers of Europe, then crosses the Atlantic, more than 5,000 km, to spawn in the Sargasso Sea.
• By day, it dives down to 1,000 m into cold water. At night, it rises to around 200 to 300 m.
• Its larvae drift with the Gulf Stream for 7 to 11 months to reach Europe.
• No one has ever seen an eel spawn. The species is critically endangered.

Verified sources

1. FishBase : Anguilla anguilla
2. CORDIS : Researchers unlock mystery of European eel’s spawning migration
3. NINA : Centuries-old mystery solved (Righton et al. 2016)

In the game: To observe

In the same zone

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