Red pike conger

Red pike conger
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Muraenesocidae
Genus: Cynoponticus
Species: C. coniceps
Binomial name
Cynoponticus coniceps
(Jordan & Gilbert, 1882)
Synonyms[1]
  • Muraenesox coniceps Jordan & Gilbert, 1882

The Red pike conger (Cynoponticus coniceps, also known as the Conehead eel in Mexico[2]) is an eel in the family Muraenesocidae (pike congers).[3] It was described by David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert in 1882, originally under the genus Muraenesox.[4] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the eastern central and southeastern Pacific Ocean, including Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Peru, and Nicaragua.[5] It dwells at a depth range of 10 to 100 metres (33 to 328 ft), and inhabits sediments of sand and mud. Males can reach a maximum total length of 202 centimetres (80 in); the maximum recorded weight is 11.0 kilograms (24.3 lb).[3]

The Red pike conger's diet consists of finfish and invertebrates.[6] It is of commercial interest to fisheries, and is considered to have high quality flesh.[3] It is also captured as a by-catch by shrimp trawlers.[5]

The IUCN redlist currently lists the Red pike conger as Data Deficient, due to a lack of information on how the species is affected by fishing activities.[5]

References

  1. Synonyms of Cynoponticus coniceps at www.fishbase.org.
  2. Common names of Cynoponticus coniceps at www.fishbase.org.
  3. 1 2 3 Cynoponticus coniceps at www.fishbase.org.
  4. Jordan, D. S. and C. H. Gilbert, 1882 (6 Apr.) [ref. 2470] Descriptions of thirty-three new species of fishes from Mazatlan, Mexico. Proceedings of the United States National Museum v. 4 (no. 237): 338-365.
  5. 1 2 3 Cynoponticus coniceps at the IUCN redlist.
  6. Food items reported for Cynoponticus coniceps at www.fishbase.org.
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