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Conger conger (Linnaeus, 1758)

European conger
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Conger conger   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Conger conger (European conger)
Conger conger
Picture by Patzner, R.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) > Congridae (Conger and garden eels) > Congrinae
Etymology: Conger: Latin, conger = conger (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 1171 m (Ref. 56504). Temperate; 68°N - 12°N, 32°W - 42°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Atlantic: Norway and Iceland to Senegal. Also in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 200.0  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 300 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4453); common length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4645); common length :150 cm TL (female); max. published weight: 110.0 kg (Ref. 35388)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found on rocky and sandy bottoms (Ref. 12382). Depth range from 0-500 m (Ref. 4453) and from 305-1171 m in the eastern Ionian Sea (Ref. 56504). It stays near the coast when young and moves toward deeper waters upon reaching adulthood (Ref. 5377). A nocturnal (Ref. 12382) predator of fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods (Ref. 6521). Like other species of the group, it reproduces only once in its life (Ref. 5377). Sexually mature at an age of 5-15 years. Spawn in summer in the Atlantic off Portugal and in the Mediterranean. Produces 3-8 million of eggs (Ref. 35388). Marketed fresh and frozen. Eaten fried and baked (Ref. 9988).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Eggs are deposited in the open sea, at depths between 2,000 and 3,000 m (Ref. 12382).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Smith, D.G., 1990. Congridae. p. 156-167. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 4453)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 20 October 2011

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 30911)





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
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Eggs
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Larvae
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Distribution
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Genetics
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Taxonomy
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References

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | OsteoBase: skull, spine | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 4.4 - 14.4, mean 8.7 °C (based on 480 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00046 (0.00035 - 0.00059), b=3.26 (3.20 - 3.32), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.3   ±0.4 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 17.4 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.06; tm=5-15 (female tm>10); Fec=3,000,000).
Prior r = 0.35, 95% CL = 0.23 - 0.53, Based on 7 data-limited stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (86 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate vulnerability (38 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 10.9 [6.6, 19.9] mg/100g; Iron = 0.259 [0.148, 0.441] mg/100g; Protein = 18.2 [15.3, 21.1] %; Omega3 = 0.482 [0.219, 1.328] g/100g; Selenium = 39.3 [20.9, 74.7] μg/100g; VitaminA = 8.33 [2.17, 33.01] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.278 [0.200, 0.398] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.