Indian Spaghetti Eel
Gorgasia maculata
- Usual depth33–47 m
- Water temperature28–30 °C
- Best monthsMay, September, and December
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The whitespotted garden eel, also known as the Indian spaghetti eel, is an eel in the family Congridae. It was described by Wolfgang Klausewitz and Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt in 1959. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Western Pacific, including Maldives, the Solomon Islands, the Philippines, the Cocos Islands, Comoros, India, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It dwells at a depth range of 25 to 48 metres, and lives in non-migratory colonies that form burrows on sandy slopes, usually near coral reefs. Males can reach a maximum total length of 70 centimetres (28 in).
Text from the Wikipedia article “Whitespotted garden eel”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 5 records
- February: 4 records
- March: 8 records
- April: 5 records
- May: 9 records
- June: 1 records
- July: 5 records
- August: 5 records
- September: 10 records
- October: 7 records
- November: 9 records
- December: 14 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 33–47 m · Deepest record: 47 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 28–30 °C
Photos
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Rachel Crane, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Indian Spaghetti Eel, Whitespotted garden eel
Names in 1 more languages
- French
- Hétérocongre pointillé
Other scientific names: Gorgasia maculate, Gorgasia maculatus
Similar species
Barnes' Garden EelGorgasia barnesi
Hawaiian Garden EelGorgasia hawaiiensis
- Galzin's Garden Eel
Gorgasia galzini
- Klausewitz' Garden Eel
Gorgasia klausewitzi
CongerConger conger
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 41 open-data records from 1959 to 2008.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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