denise
08-12-2008, 04:57 PM
Eels are found in practically every ocean and sea, there are more than 600 species worldwide. Eels are classified as fish, but there there are several fundamental differences between eels and the “regular” fish we are used to seeing when diving on coral reefs.
Eels lack operculums (gill covers) that other fish use to pump water over their gills to extract the oxygen from it. This means that they have to find an alternative method of obtaining oxygen from the water. Moray eels (hyperlink) use their mouth as a pump, opening and closing their mouth rapidly to circulate a constant flow of water over their gills (this is often incorrectly interpreted as an aggressive behavior by eels).
Many other eels breathe through their skin!
Eels have a serpent-like head, an elongated, snake-like body, with no pelvic fins, and most lack pectoral fins. Their dorsal fin is fused with their tail fin, that forms a single fin that runs along most of the length of the animal. Eels have a unique way of propelling themselves through the water (called anguilliform swimming). Unlike other fish, eels bodies are flexible from end to end. As they swim, they move in a series of waves, that cause each segment of the eel's body to oscillate. This movement causes the eel to propel forward in the water. Eels swim using their entire body, while other fish mostly use just the tail-end.
Eels vary greatly in size and color, and worldwide there are 22 families of eels. There are three distinct families that are quite prominent in Floridian waters:
*Moray eels (http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/showthread.php?t=1317)
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/greenmorayrob_2.jpg
*Garden Eels (http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/showthread.php?t=1318)
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/yellowgardeneelrob_2.jpg
*Snake eels (http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/showthread.php?t=1316)
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/ReticulateMoray.jpg
Eels lack operculums (gill covers) that other fish use to pump water over their gills to extract the oxygen from it. This means that they have to find an alternative method of obtaining oxygen from the water. Moray eels (hyperlink) use their mouth as a pump, opening and closing their mouth rapidly to circulate a constant flow of water over their gills (this is often incorrectly interpreted as an aggressive behavior by eels).
Many other eels breathe through their skin!
Eels have a serpent-like head, an elongated, snake-like body, with no pelvic fins, and most lack pectoral fins. Their dorsal fin is fused with their tail fin, that forms a single fin that runs along most of the length of the animal. Eels have a unique way of propelling themselves through the water (called anguilliform swimming). Unlike other fish, eels bodies are flexible from end to end. As they swim, they move in a series of waves, that cause each segment of the eel's body to oscillate. This movement causes the eel to propel forward in the water. Eels swim using their entire body, while other fish mostly use just the tail-end.
Eels vary greatly in size and color, and worldwide there are 22 families of eels. There are three distinct families that are quite prominent in Floridian waters:
*Moray eels (http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/showthread.php?t=1317)
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/greenmorayrob_2.jpg
*Garden Eels (http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/showthread.php?t=1318)
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/yellowgardeneelrob_2.jpg
*Snake eels (http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/showthread.php?t=1316)
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/ReticulateMoray.jpg