Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Anguilla marmorata
anguilla moteada gigante, Giant mottled eel
Distinguished from all other species by the mottled color and the long dorsal fin, which begins closer to the gill opening than to the anus (Ref. 9828).Adults have a brownish to black marbling on their back on a greyish yellow background. This coloration can fade away. White belly. Younger specimens are greyish to orange and the marbling is less visible (Ref. 48622). Body color brown speckles scattered on back, sides and fins; yellow between speckles and edge of pectoral fin; belly white or pale blue (Ref. 45563). Head rounded; snout depressed; lower jaw protruded; gill openings small; scales matted-like under skin; pectoral fin rounded; pelvic fin absent (Ref. 45563).
Tropical;catadromous (Ref. 51243); freshwater; brackish; marine; depth range 1 - 400 m (Ref. 6898),Demersal
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Teleostei
Order
Anguilliformes
Family
Anguillidae
Genus
Anguilla
Species
marmorata
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Anguilla hildebrandti Peters, 1881, Anguilla johannae Günther, 1867, Anguilla marmolata Quoy & Gaimard, 1824 (misspelling), Anguilla mauritiana Bennett, 1831, Muraena manillensis Bleeker, 1864, fide Appeltans et al. (2010)
Origin: Vagrant
Distribution: Indo-West Pacific from East Africa tp the Society Islands, up north to southern Japan, Galapagos
- Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
- Constant, P. (2007) Marine Life of the Galapagos. The Diver's guide to Fishes, Whales, Dolphins and marine Invertebrates, 307 pp.
- Froese, R. Pauly, D. (eds.) (2010) FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org
- IUCN (2023) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2 Https://www.iucnredlist.org
- McCosker, J. E. Bustamante, H., Wellington, G. (2002) The freshwater eel, Anguilla marmorata, discovered in Galapagos. Noticias de Galapagos.
- McCosker, J.E. Rosenblatt, R.H. (2010) The fishes of the Galápagos Archipelago: an update. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sc., Ser. 4, vol. 61, Suppl. II, no. 11: 167-195.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Anguilla marmorata", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=12972. Accessed 1 April 2026.