Asian swamp eel

Monopterus albus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Synbranchiformes
Family:	Synbranchidae
Genus:	Monopterus
Species:	M. albus
Binomial name
Monopterus albus Zuiew, 1793

Monopterus albus (common names: swamp eel, rice eel, white ricefield eel, Asian swamp eel) (Synonym: Fluta alba (Bloch and Schneider, 1801)) is an important air breathing commercial species of fish in the Synbranchidae family.

Appearance

Monopterus albus has a scaleless cylindrical snake-like body with tapered tail and small eyes. It grows to a meter or less, usually 25 to 40 cm as an adult. Its body color is brown or green-brown above and white or light-brown below. In adults, paired fins are lacking, and the dorsal, caudal and anal fins are reduced. Through its life, Monopterus Albus develops a small top fin near its rear. The gill openings are merged into a single slit underneath the head while the mouth is large and protractile and both upper and lower jaws have tiny teeth for eating fishes, worms, crustaceans, and other small aquatic animals at night.

Range

While it can survive temperatures below freezing, months without water, or saline waters; it is mostly found in warm fresh-waters locations such as muddy ponds, swamps, canals, and rice fields.

M. albus is native to Central and South America, Africa, Australia, and from India to eastern Asia. In recent years, M. albus has been reported in the United States in Hawaii, Florida, Georgia, and New Jersey.

Behavior

Asian swamp eels are considered voracious, generalized predators. They feed mostly on crayfish, tadpoles, small fish, and worms. They lay their eggs into a bubble nest in shallow water. Adults breathe air through the mucosa lining of the gill arch. They move over dry land or create mud burrows in response to lack of water.

Notable incidents

[1]

Sources and notes

• fishbase
• Invasive Species Specialist Group
• Discover Life
• Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Monopterus albus". FishBase. March 2009 version.

External Links

• Species Profile- Asian Swamp Eel (Monopterus albus), National Invasive Species Information Center, United States National Agricultural Library. Lists general information and resources for Asian Swamp Eel.