ANIMAL SPECIES:Lord Howe Conger, Ariosoma howensis McCulloch & Waite, 1916
The Lord Howe Conger is a relatively stout eel with its dorsal fin originating above the operculum. It has four dark bands anteriorly. The first band crosses the snout but leaves the nostrils and lips white. The second band crosses the interobital and forms a dark patch below the eye. The third crosses the nape and preopercular region. The fourth crosses the operculae. The dorsal, caudal and anal fins have thin dark margins.
Identification
The Lord Howe Conger is a relatively stout eel with its dorsal fin originating above the operculum.
It has four dark bands anteriorly. The first band crosses the snout but leaves the nostrils and lips white. The second band crosses the interobital and forms a dark patch below the eye. The third crosses the nape and preopercular region. The fourth crosses the operculae. The dorsal, caudal and anal fins have thin dark margins.
Ariosoma howensis was described (as Congermuraena howensis) in 1916 by Australian Museum Fish Curator, Allan McCulloch and South Australian Museum Director (past Australian Museum Fish Curator) Edgar Waite. The description was based on three syntype specimens, all of which are housed in the Australian Museum fish collection.
Size range
The species grows at least 40 cm in length.Distribution
It is known from Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia.
Classification
- Species:
- howensis
- Genus:
- Ariosoma
- Family:
- Congridae
- Class:
- Actinopterygii
- Subphylum:
- Vertebrata
- Phylum:
- Chordata
- Kingdom:
- Animalia
References
- Karmovskaya, E.S. 2004. Benthopelagic bathyal conger eels of families Congridae and Nettastomatidae from the western tropical Pacific, with descriptions of ten new species. Journal of Ichthyology. 44 (Suppl. 1): S1-S32.
- McCulloch, A.R. & Waite, E.R. 1916. Additions to the fish-fauna of Lord Howe Island. No. 5. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. 40: 437-451.
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Lord Howe Conger, Ariosoma howensis View full size
Geoff Kelly
© LHI Marine Park
A Lord Howe Conger washed up at Lord Howe Island View full size
Geoff Kelly
© LHI Marine Park
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