Common Worm Eel
Moringua microchir
- Usual depth0–23 m
- Water temperature24–30 °C
- Best monthsMarch, September, and October
- How commonRare
About this species
The lesser thrush eel, also known as the common worm eel and the spaghetti eel, is an eel in the family Moringuidae. It was described by Pieter Bleeker in 1853. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from East Africa, Samoa, the Ryukyu Islands, and the southern Great Barrier Reef. It typically dwells at a depth range of 3–20 m, with juveniles inhabiting estuaries and rivers, adult females leading a benthic lifestyle in shallow oceanic waters, and adult males living in the pelagic zone. Adults breed offshore. Males can reach a maximum total length of 47 cm.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Lesser thrush eel”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
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Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 2 records
- February: 7 records
- March: 10 records
- April: 6 records
- May: 5 records
- June: 2 records
- July: 2 records
- August: 4 records
- September: 10 records
- October: 9 records
- November: 9 records
- December: 0 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–23 m · Deepest record: 45.7 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 24–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Common Worm Eel, Lesser Spaghetti Eel, Lesser thrush eel, Shortfin Spaghetti Eel, spaghetti eel
Names in 2 more languages
- French
- Anguille spaghetti, Anguille spaghetti, Murène spaghetti
- Japanese
- Hariganeumihebi, ハリガネウミヘビ
Other scientific names: Aphthalmichthys affinis
Similar species
- Short Worm Eel
Moringua abbreviata
- Java spaghetti eel
Moringua javanica
- Lesser Thrush Eel
Moringua macrochir
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).
- 114 open-data records from 1929 to 2009.
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