Bandtooth conger

Bandtooth conger
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Congridae
Genus:	Ariosoma
Species:	A. balearicum
Binomial name
Ariosoma balearicum (Delaroche, 1809)
Synonyms[1]
Muraena balearica Delaroche, 1809 Conger balearicus (Delaroche, 1809) Congermuraena balearica (Delaroche, 1809) Congrellus balearicus (Delaroche, 1809) Ophisoma balearicum (Delaroche, 1809) Congromuraena balearica (Delaroche, 1809) (misspelling) Echelus ciuciara Rafinesque, 1810 Muraena cassini Risso, 1810 Conger cassini (Risso, 1810) Ophisoma acuta Swainson, 1839 Conger auratus Costa, 1844 Helmichthys diaphanus Costa, 1844 Leptocephalus marginatus Kaup, 1856 Leptocephalus taenia Kaup, 1856 Conger impressus Poey, 1860 Ariosoma impressa (Poey, 1860) Ophiosoma impressus (Poey, 1860) Ophisoma impressus (Poey, 1860) Congromuraena impressa (Poey, 1860) (misspelling) Leptocephalus inornatus Facciolà, 1883 Leptocephalus affinis Facciolà, 1883 Leptocephalus eckmani Strömman, 1896 Leptocephalus ekmani Strömman, 1896 Leptocephalus rex Eigenmann & Kennedy, 1902 Leptocephalus microphthalmus Beebe & Tee-Van, 1928 Ariosoma minor Howell Rivero, 1934 Ariosoma somaliense Kotthaus, 1968

The bandtooth conger (Ariosoma balearicum), also known as the Baleares conger or the Balearic conger,^[2] is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels).^[3] It was described by François Étienne Delaroche in 1809, originally under the genus Muraena.^[4] It is a subtropical, marine eel which is known from the western and eastern Atlantic and the western Indian Ocean, including North Carolina, USA; the northern Gulf of Mexico, northern South America, Canada, Portugal, Angola, the Mediterranean, and the Red Sea. It inhabits reefs and littoral shelves, and burrows into sand and mud. It dwells at a depth range of 1-732 metres, but most frequently between 20-100 m. Males can reach a maximum total length of 35 centimetres, but more commonly reach a TL of 25 cm.^[3]

The Bandtooth conger is of minor interest to fisheries.^[3]

References

1. Synonyms of Ariosoma balearicum at www.fishbase.org.
2. Common names for Ariosoma balaericum at www.fishbase.org.
3. Ariosoma balearicum at www.fishbase.org.
4. Delaroche, F. E., 1809 [ref. 17380] Suite du mémoire sur les espèces de poissons observées à Iviça. Observations sur quelques-uns des poissons indiqués dans le précédent tableau et descriptions des espèces nouvelles ou peu connues. Annales du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris v. 13: 313-361, Pls. 20-25.