Eurypharynx pelecanoides, Pelican eel

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Eurypharynx pelecanoides Vaillant, 1882

Pelican eel
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Eurypharynx pelecanoides   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Eurypharynx pelecanoides (Pelican eel)
Eurypharynx pelecanoides
Picture by Orlov, A.

US America (contiguous states) territory information

Common names: Pelican gulper, Umbrellamouth gulper
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Also Ref. 96339.
National Checklist:
Territory Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://www.nmfs.gov
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Hubbs, C.L., W.I. Follett and L.J. Dempster, 1979
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Pelican gulper, Pelican gulper fish, Grand-gousier pelican, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Saccopharyngiformes (Swallowers and gulpers) > Eurypharyngidae (Gulpers)
Etymology: Eurypharynx: Greek, eurys = long + Greek, pharyngx = pharynx (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Vaillant.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; bathypelagic; depth range 500 - 7625 m (Ref. 58426), usually 1200 - 1400 m (Ref. 559). Deep-water; 67°N - 56°N, 180°W - 180°E

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Circumglobal: In tropical to temperate waters. Eastern Pacific: ranges from northern California to Peru (Ref. 35600).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 27000); common length : 55.0 cm NG male/unsexed; (Ref. 5755)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. Mouth greatly enlarged by a backward extension of jaws, gape comprising half or more of preanal length; buccal cavity greatly distensible. Tail attenuated and ending in an expanded, luminous caudal organ. Caudal fin absent; scales absent; lateral line without pores, instead with groups of elevated tubules.
Body shape (shape guide): eel-like.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Meso- to abyssopelagic (Ref. 58302) and bathypelagic (Ref. 58426). Adults feed mainly on crustaceans, but also take fishes, cephalopods, and other invertebrates (Ref. 2850, 11041). Oviparous, planktonic eggs hatch into planktonic leptocephalus larvae (Ref. 6719, 35600). Degenerative changes in males and females suggest semelparity (Ref. 35600).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Oviparous (Ref. 35600). Degenerative changes in males and females suggest semelparity (Ref. 35600). Egg cells within each of the gonads have the same developmental stage (monocyclic ovaries) suggesting only one spawning during its lifetime or periodic spawning (Ref. 36055).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Nielsen, J.G. and E. Bertelsen, 1990. Eurypharyngidae. p. 206. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 4457)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 24 May 2012

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
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Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
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Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
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References

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | National databases | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 2.3 - 5.5, mean 3.6 °C (based on 890 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00102 (0.00046 - 0.00225), b=3.06 (2.88 - 3.24), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.57 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Assuming semelparity with tm>10).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (60 of 100). 🛈
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 15.6 [4.0, 64.6] mg/100g; Iron = 0.408 [0.125, 1.243] mg/100g; Protein = 2.94 [0.00, 6.86] %; Omega3 = 0.192 [0.063, 0.599] g/100g; Selenium = 18.7 [6.0, 72.0] μg/100g; VitaminA = 28.8 [3.8, 214.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.453 [0.206, 1.092] mg/100g (wet weight);