Eel

An eel is a ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage, and most are predators.
The term "eel" is also used for some other eel-shaped fish, such as electric eels (genus Electrophorus), spiny eels (family Mastacembelidae), and deep-sea spiny eels (family Notacanthidae). These other clades, however, evolved their eel-like shapes independently from the true eels.
==Description==
Eels are elongated fish, ranging in length from in the one-jawed eel (Monognathus ahlstromi) to in the slender giant moray. Adults range in weight from to well over . They possess no pelvic fins, and many species also lack pectoral fins. The dorsal and anal fins are fused with the caudal fin, forming a single ribbon running along much of the length of the animal. Eels swim by generating body waves which travel the length of their bodies. They can swim backwards by reversing the direction of the wave.Long Jr, J. H., Shepherd, W., & Root, R. G. (1997). Manueuverability and reversible propulsion: How eel-like fish swim forward and backward using travelling body waves". In: Proc. Special Session on Bio-Engineering Research Related to Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, 10th Int. Symp. (pp. 118–134).
Most eels live in the shallow waters of the ocean and burrow into sand, mud, or amongst rocks. A majority of eel species are nocturnal, thus are rarely seen. Sometimes, they are seen living together in holes, or "eel pits". Some species of eels also live in deeper water on the continental shelves and over the slopes deep as . Only members of the Anguilla regularly inhabit fresh water, but they, too, return to the sea to breed.
The heaviest true eel is the European conger. The maximum size of this species has been reported as reaching a length of 3 m (10 ft) and a weight of 110 kg (240 lb).Conger conger, European conger: fisheries, gamefish, aquarium. Fishbase.org Other eels are longer, but do not weigh as much, such as the slender giant moray which reaches 4 m (13 ft).FishBase . FishBase (2011-11-15).
The eel is referred to as "The Devil of the Sea".
==Lifecycle==
Eels begin life as flat and transparent larvae, called leptocephali. Eel larvae drift in the surface waters of the sea, feeding on marine snow, small particles that float in the water. Eel larvae then metamorphose into glass eels and then become elvers before finally seeking out their juvenile and adult habitats. Many eels remain in the sea throughout their lives, but freshwater elvers of eels in the family Anguillidae travel upstream and are forced to climb up obstructions, such as weirs, dam walls, and natural waterfalls.
File:LeptocephalusConger.jpg|Eel eggs hatch firstly into the leptocephalus larval stage
File:Glasseelskils.jpg|Larval eels become glass eels as they transition from the ocean to fresh water
File:Rostrata.jpg|As freshwater elvers, eels work their way upstream
File:FMIB 35739 Anguilla vulgaris -- Anguilla.jpeg|Mature silver stage eels migrate back to the ocean in order to mate
Lady Colin Campbell found that the eel fisheries at Ballisodare were greatly improved by the hanging of loosely plaited grass ladders over barriers, enabling elvers to ascend with a greater degree of ease.
==Classification==
A number of classifications of eels exist; some, such as FishBase, divide eels into 20 families, whereas other classifications such as ITIS and Systema Naturae 2000 include additional eel families, which are noted below the family with which they are synonymized in the FishBase system.
Identifying the origin of the freshwater species is considered to be problematic; however, genomic studies indicate they are a monophyletic group which originated among the deep-sea eels.
==Suborders and families==
Taxonomy based on Nelson, Grande and Wilson 2016.
* Suborder Protanguilloidei
** Family Protanguillidae
* Suborder Synaphobranchoidei
** Family Synaphobranchidae (cutthroat eels) [incl. Dysommidae, Nettodaridae, and Simenchelyidae]
* Suborder Muraenoidei
** Family Heterenchelyidae (mud eels)
** Family Myrocongridae (thin eels)
** Family Muraenidae (moray eels)
* Suborder Chlopsoidei
** Family Chlopsidae (false morays)
* Suborder Congroidei
** Family Congridae (congers) [incl. Macrocephenchelyidae; Colocongridae]
** Family Derichthyidae (longneck eels) [incl. Nessorhamphidae]
** Family Muraenesocidae (pike congers)
** Family Nettastomatidae (duckbill eels)
** Family Ophichthidae (snake eels)
* Suborder Moringuoidei
** Family Moringuidae (spaghetti eels)
* Suborder Saccopharyngoidei
** Family Eurypharyngidae (pelican eels, umbrellamouth gulpers)
** Family Saccopharyngidae
** Family Monognathidae (onejaw gulpers)
** Family Cyematidae (bobtail snipe eels)
* Suborder Anguilloidei
** Family Anguillidae (freshwater eels)
** Family Nemichthyidae (snipe eels)
** Family Serrivomeridae (sawtooth eels)
Image:Anguilla anguilla.jpg|Anguilla anguilla, an Anguillidae
Image:Kaupichthys nuchalis - pone.0010676.g020.png|Kaupichthys nuchalis, a Chlopsidae
Image:Coloconger raniceps.jpg|Coloconger raniceps, a Colocongeridae
Image:Conger cinereus, de nuit.jpg|Conger, a Congridae
Image:Moringua edwardsi - pone.0010676.g021.png|Moringua edwardsi, a Moringuidae
Image:Muraenesox cinereus.JPG|Muraenesox cinereus, a Muraenesocidae
Image:Echidna nebulosa Réunion.jpg|Echidna nebulosa, a Muraenidae
Image:Expl9726 (14318848139).jpg|A Nemichthyidae
Image:Venefica tentaculata.jpg|Venefica tentaculata, a Nettastomatidae
Image:Myrichthys ocellatus (Serpentine ocellée).jpg|Myrichthys ocellatus, an Ophichthidae
Image:Serrivomer sp.jpg|Serrivomer sp., a Serrivomeridae
Image:Expn0020 (14482376376).jpg|A Synaphobranchidae
In some classifications, the family Cyematidae of bobtail snipe eels is included in the Anguilliformes, but in the FishBase system that family is included in the order Saccopharyngiformes.
The electric eel of South America is not a true eel, but is a South American knifefish more closely related to the carps and catfishes.
===Phylogeny===
Phylogeny based on Johnson et al. 2012.
==Commercial species==
Main commercial species	Main commercial species 	Main commercial species	Main commercial species	Main commercial species	Main commercial species	Main commercial species	Main commercial species	Main commercial species 	Main commercial species	Main commercial species
Common name 	Scientific name 	Maximumlength 	Commonlength 	Maximumweight 	Maximumage 	Trophiclevel 	FishBase 	FAO 	ITIS 	IUCN status
American eel 	Anguilla rostrata (Lesueur, 1817) 	152 cm 	50 cm 	7.33 kg 	43 years 	3.7 	 	 	 	Endangered
European eel 	Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758) 	150 cm 	35 cm 	6.6 kg 	88 years 	3.5 	 	Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758) FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved 20 May 2012. 	 	Critically endangered
Japanese eel 	Anguilla japonica Temminck & Schlegel, 1846	150 cm 	40 cm 	1.89 kg 	 	3.6 	 	Anguilla japonica, Temminck & Schlegel, 1846 FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved May 2012.	 	Endangered
Short-finned eel 	Anguilla australis Richardson, 1841 	130 cm 	45 cm 	7.48 kg 	32 years 	4.1 	 	 	 	Not assessed
==Use by humans==
Freshwater eels (unagi) and marine eels (conger eel, anago) are commonly used in Japanese cuisine; foods such as unadon and unajū are popular, but expensive. Eels are also very popular in Chinese cuisine, and are prepared in many different ways. Hong Kong eel prices have often reached 1000 HKD (128.86 US Dollars) per kg, and once exceeded 5000 HKD per kg. The European eel and other freshwater eels are eaten in Europe, the United States, and other places. A traditional east London food is jellied eels, although the demand has significantly declined since World War II. The Spanish cuisine delicacy angulas consists of elver (young eels) sautéed in olive oil with garlic; elvers usually reach prices of up to 1000 euro per kg.http://www.buber.net/Basque/Food/food1.html New Zealand longfin eel is a traditional Māori food in New Zealand. In Italian cuisine, eels from the Valli di Comacchio, a swampy zone along the Adriatic coast, are especially prized, along with freshwater eels of Bolsena Lake and pond eels from Cabras, Sardinia. In northern Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark, and Sweden, smoked eel is considered a delicacy.
Elvers, often fried, were formerly a cheap dish in the United Kingdom. During the 1990s, their numbers collapsed across Europe. They are now a delicacy, the UK's most expensive species.
Eels, particularly the moray eel, are popular among marine aquarists.
Eel blood is toxic to humans and other mammals,"Blood serum of the eel." M. Sato. Nippon Biseibutsugakukai Zasshi (1917), 5 (No. 35), From: Abstracts Bact. 1, 474 (1917)"Hemolytic and toxic properties of certain serums." Wm. J. Keffer, Albert E. Welsh. Mendel Bulletin (1936), 8 76–80. but both cooking and the digestive process destroy the toxic protein. The toxin derived from eel blood serum was used by Charles Robert Richet in his Nobel Prize-winning research which discovered anaphylaxis (by injecting it into dogs and observing the effect). The poison used by Richet was actually obtained from sea anemones.
Eelskin leather is highly prized. It is very smooth and exceptionally strong. It does not come from eels. It comes from the Pacific hagfish, a jawless fish which is also known as the slime eel.
==In culture==
The large lake of Almere, which existed in the early Medieval Netherlands, got its name from the eels which lived in its water (the Dutch word for eel is aal or ael, so: "ael mere" = "eel lake"). The name is preserved in the new city of Almere in Flevoland, given in 1984 in memory of this body of water on whose site the town is located.
The daylight passage in the spring of elvers upstream along the Thames was at one time called "eel fare". The word 'elver' is thought to be a corruption of "eel fare."
A famous attraction on the French Polynesian island of Huahine (part of the Society Islands) is the bridge across a stream hosting three- to six-foot-long eels, deemed sacred by local culture.
Eel fishing in Nazi-time Danzig plays an important role in Günter Grass' novel The Tin Drum. The cruelty of humans to eels is used as a metaphor for Nazi atrocities, and the sight of eels being killed by a fisherman triggers the madness of the protagonist's mother.
Sinister implications of eels fishing are also referenced in Jo Nesbø's The Cockroaches, the second book of the Harry Hole detective series. The book's background includes a Norwegian village where eels in the nearby sea are rumored to feed on the corpses of drowned humans, making the eating of these eels verge on cannibalism.
==Sustainable consumption==
In 2010, Greenpeace International has added the European eel, Japanese eel, and American eel to its seafood red list. Japan consumes more than 70% of the global eel catch.
File:Mortagne-sur-Gironde Civellier Mayflowers 2013.jpg|Eel fishing boat in France
File:Boats to transport eels - Comacchio - Ferrara - Italy.jpg|Special boats to transport live eels Comacchio
File:Ålegård.gif|Eel trap in Denmark around 1900
File:Gerookte paling.jpeg|Gerookte paling (Dutch for smoked eel)
==Etymology==
The English name "eel" descends from Old English ǣl, Common Germanic *ēlaz. Also from the common Germanic are West Frisian iel, Dutch aal, German Aal, and Icelandic áll. Katz (1998) identifies a number of Indo-European cognates, among them the second part of the Latin word for eels, anguilla, attested in its simplex form illa (in a glossary only), and the Greek word for "eel", egkhelys (the second part of which is attested in Hesychius as elyes). The first compound member, anguis ("snake"), is cognate to other Indo-European words for "snake" (compare Old Irish escung "eel", Old High German unc "snake", Lithuanian angìs, Greek ophis, okhis, Vedic Sanskrit áhi, Avestan aži, Armenian auj, iž, Old Church Slavonic *ǫžь, all from Proto-Indo-European *oguhis, ēguhis).The word also appears in the Old English word for "hedgehog," which is igil (meaning "snake eater"), and perhaps in the egi- of Old High German egidehsa "wall lizard".
According to this theory, the name Bellerophon (Βελλεροφόντης, attested in a variant Ἐλλεροφόντης in Eustathius of Thessalonica), is also related, translating to "the slayer of the serpent" (ahihán). On this theory, the ελλερο- is an adjective form of an older word, ελλυ, meaning "snake", which is directly comparable to Hittite ellu-essar- "snake pit". This myth likely came to Greece via Anatolia. In the Hittite version of the myth, the dragon is called Illuyanka: the illuy- part is cognate to the word illa, and the -anka part is cognate to angu, a word for "snake". Since the words for "snake" (and similarly shaped animals) are often subject to taboo in many Indo-European (and non-Indo-European) languages, no unambiguous Proto-Indo-European form of the word for eel can be reconstructed. It may have been *ēl(l)-u-, *ēl(l)-o-, or something similar.
==Timeline of genera==
      Timeline                                
ImageSize = width:800px height:auto barincrement:15px
PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px
Period = from:-145.5 till:15
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:-145.5
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-145.5
TimeAxis = orientation:hor
AlignBars = justify
Colors =
 #legends
 id:CAR value:claret
 id:ANK value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196)
 id:HER value:teal
 id:HAD value:green
 id:OMN value:blue
 id:black value:black
 id:white value:white
 id:cretaceous value:rgb(0.5,0.78,0.31)
 id:earlycretaceous value:rgb(0.63,0.78,0.65)
 id:latecretaceous value:rgb(0.74,0.82,0.37)
 id:cenozoic value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258)
 id:paleogene value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32) 
 id:paleocene value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37) 
 id:eocene value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42) 
 id:oligocene value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48) 
 id:neogene value:rgb(0.999999,0.9,0.1) 
 id:miocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.999999,0) 
 id:pliocene value:rgb(0.97,0.98,0.68) 
 id:quaternary value:rgb(0.98,0.98,0.5)
 id:pleistocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.95,0.68)
 id:holocene value:rgb(0.999,0.95,0.88)
 
BarData=
 bar:eratop
 bar:space
 bar:periodtop
 bar:space
 bar:NAM1
 bar:NAM2
 bar:NAM3
 bar:NAM4
 bar:NAM5
 bar:NAM6
 bar:NAM7
 bar:NAM8
 bar:NAM9
 bar:NAM10
 bar:NAM11
 bar:NAM12
 bar:NAM13
 bar:NAM14
 bar:NAM15
 bar:NAM16
 bar:NAM17
 bar:NAM18
 bar:NAM19
 bar:NAM20
 bar:NAM21
 bar:NAM22
 bar:NAM23
 bar:NAM24
 bar:NAM25
 bar:NAM26
 bar:NAM27
 bar:NAM28
 bar:NAM29
 bar:NAM30
 bar:NAM31
 bar:NAM32
 bar:NAM33
 bar:NAM34
 bar:NAM35
 bar:NAM36
 bar:NAM37
 bar:NAM38
 bar:NAM39
 bar:NAM40
 bar:NAM41
 bar:NAM42
 bar:NAM43
 bar:NAM44
 bar:NAM45
 bar:NAM46
 bar:NAM47
 bar:NAM48
 bar:NAM49
 bar:NAM50
 bar:NAM51
 bar:NAM52
 bar:NAM53
 bar:NAM54
 bar:NAM55
 bar:NAM56
 bar:NAM57
 bar:NAM58
 bar:NAM59
 bar:NAM60
 bar:NAM61
 bar:NAM62
 bar:NAM63
 bar:NAM64
 bar:NAM65
 bar:NAM66
 bar:NAM67
 bar:NAM68
 bar:NAM69
 bar:NAM70
 bar:NAM71
 bar:NAM72
 bar:space
 bar:period
 bar:space
 bar:era
PlotData=
 align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 
 shift:(7,-4)
 
 bar:periodtop
 from: -145.5 till: -99.6 color:earlycretaceous text:[[Early Cretaceous|Early]]
 from: -99.6 till: -65.5 color:latecretaceous text:[[Late Cretaceous|Late]]
 from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:[[Paleocene|Paleo.]]
 from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:[[Eocene|Eo.]] 
 from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:[[Oligocene|Oligo.]] 
 from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:[[Miocene|Mio.]]
 from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text:[[Pliocene|Pl.]]
 from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:[[Pleistocene|Pl.]]
 from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text:[[Holocene|H.]]
 bar:eratop
 from: -145.5 till: -65.5 color:cretaceous text:[[Cretaceous]]
 from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:[[Paleogene]] 
 from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:[[Neogene]]
 from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text:[[Quaternary|Q.]]
PlotData=
 align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left
 color:earlycretaceous bar:NAM2 from:-112 till:-99.6 text:[[Casierius]]
 color:latecretaceous bar:NAM3 from:-99.6 till:-89.3 text:[[Dinelops]]
 color:latecretaceous bar:NAM4 from:-99.6 till:-83.5 text:[[Lebonichthyes]]
 color:latecretaceous bar:NAM5 from:-99.6 till:-70.6 text:[[Enchelurus]]
 color:latecretaceous bar:NAM6 from:-95.5 till:-93.5 text:[[Anguillavus]]
 color:latecretaceous bar:NAM7 from:-95.5 till:-93.5 text:[[Enchelion]]
 color:latecretaceous bar:NAM8 from:-95.5 till:-93.5 text:[[Haljulia]]
 color:latecretaceous bar:NAM9 from:-95.5 till:-83.5 text:[[Urenchelys]]
 color:latecretaceous bar:NAM10 from:-85.8 till:-70.6 text:[[Istieus]]
 color:latecretaceous bar:NAM14 from:-83.5 till:0 text:[[Pterothrissus]]
 color:latecretaceous bar:NAM15 from:-70.6 till:-65.5 text:[[Coriops]]
 color:latecretaceous bar:NAM16 from:-70.6 till:-55.8 text:[[Eodiaphyodus]]
 color:paleocene bar:NAM17 from:-65.5 till:-61.7 text:[[Pseudoegertonia]]
 color:paleocene bar:NAM18 from:-65.5 till:-48.6 text:[[Phyllodus]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM19 from:-55.8 till:-48.6 text:[[Eomuraena ]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM20 from:-55.8 till:-48.6 text:[[Micromyrus]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM21 from:-55.8 till:-48.6 text:[[Palaeomyrus]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM22 from:-55.8 till:-48.6 text:[[Parechelus]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM23 from:-55.8 till:-48.6 text:[[Rhynchorinus]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM24 from:-55.8 till:-37.2 text:[[Egertonia]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM25 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:[[Anguilloides]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM26 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:[[Bolcyrus]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM27 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:[[Dalpiazella]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM28 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:[[Eoanguilla]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM29 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:[[Eomyrus]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM30 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:[[Goslinophis]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM31 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:[[Milananguilla]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM32 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:[[Mylomyrus]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM33 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:[[Paracongroides]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM34 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:[[Paranguilla]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM35 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:[[Patavichthys]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM36 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:[[Proteomyrus]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM37 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:[[Veronanguilla]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM38 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:[[Voltaconger]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM39 from:-55.8 till:-33.9 text:[[Whitapodus]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM40 from:-55.8 till:0 text:[[Anguilla]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM41 from:-55.8 till:0 text:[[Conger]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM42 from:-55.8 till:0 text:[[Gnathophis]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM43 from:-55.8 till:0 text:[[Hoplunnis]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM44 from:-55.8 till:0 text:[[Muraenesox]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM45 from:-55.8 till:0 text:[[Paraconger]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM46 from:-55.8 till:0 text:[[Hildebrandia]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM47 from:-55.8 till:0 text:[[Nettastoma]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM48 from:-55.8 till:0 text:[[Notacanthus]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM49 from:-48.6 till:-37.2 text:[[Bolcanguilla]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM50 from:-48.6 till:-37.2 text:[[Gazolapodus]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM51 from:-48.6 till:0 text:[[Eomyrophis]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM52 from:-37.2 till:0 text:[[Pseudophichthyes]]
 color:eocene bar:NAM53 from:-37.2 till:0 text:[[Rhechias]]
 color:oligocene bar:NAM54 from:-33.9 till:-28.4 text:[[Proserrivomer]]
 color:oligocene bar:NAM55 from:-33.9 till:0 text:[[Ariosoma]]
 color:oligocene bar:NAM56 from:-33.9 till:0 text:[[Myroconger]]
 color:oligocene bar:NAM57 from:-28.4 till:0 text:[[Taenioconger]]
 color:miocene bar:NAM58 from:-23.03 till:0 text:[[Echelus]]
 color:miocene bar:NAM59 from:-23.03 till:0 text:[[Mystriophis]]
 color:miocene bar:NAM60 from:-23.03 till:0 text:[[Uroconger]]
 color:miocene bar:NAM61 from:-23.03 till:0 text:[[Mastygocercus]]
 color:miocene bar:NAM62 from:-15.97 till:0 text:[[Ophisurus]]
 color:miocene bar:NAM63 from:-15.97 till:0 text:[[Panturichthys]]
 color:miocene bar:NAM64 from:-15.97 till:0 text:[[Pisodonophis]]
 color:miocene bar:NAM65 from:-15.97 till:0 text:[[Rhynchoconger]]
 color:miocene bar:NAM66 from:-15.97 till:0 text:[[Scalanago]]
 color:miocene bar:NAM67 from:-11.608 till:-5.332 text:[[Deprandus]]
 color:miocene bar:NAM68 from:-11.608 till:-5.332 text:[[Laytonia]]
 color:miocene bar:NAM69 from:-11.608 till:0 text:[[Muraena]]
 color:pliocene bar:NAM70 from:-5.332 till:0 text:[[Japonoconger]]
 color:pliocene bar:NAM71 from:-5.332 till:0 text:[[Pseudoxenomystax]]
 color:pleistocene bar:NAM72 from:-2.588 till:-0.0117 text:[[Rhynchocymba]]
PlotData=
 align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25
 bar:period
 from: -145.5 till: -99.6 color:earlycretaceous text:[[Early Cretaceous|Early]]
 from: -99.6 till: -65.5 color:latecretaceous text:[[Late Cretaceous|Late]]
 from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text:[[Paleocene|Paleo.]]
 from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text:[[Eocene|Eo.]] 
 from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:[[Oligocene|Oligo.]] 
 from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text:[[Miocene|Mio.]]
 from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text:[[Pliocene|Pl.]]
 from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text:[[Pleistocene|Pl.]]
 from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text:[[Holocene|H.]]
 bar:era
 from: -145.5 till: -65.5 color:cretaceous text:[[Cretaceous]]
 from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:[[Paleogene]] 
 from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:[[Neogene]]
 from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text:[[Quaternary|Q.]]
==See also==
* Elver pass
==References==
==Further references==
* Tesch FW and White RJ (2008) The Eel John Wiley & Sons. .
* Patrik Svensson (2019) The Book of Eels, English translation (2020) by Agnes Broomé, published by ecco, .
==External links==
* 
* 
* 
 
Category:Articles which contain graphical timelines
Category:Commercial fish
Category:Elopomorpha
Category:Extant Cretaceous first appearances