WOLF EEL PREDATORS SKIN

Males have large lips and a protuberance on the superior part of the head. It has no pelvic fins, nor a lateral line. It only has one dorsal fin, that extends from the head to the end of the body, with 228 to 250 flexible fishbones without soft radius. In the anal fin, it has no rays and 233 radials. They possess powerful jaws with which they crush their prey: canine teeth in the front and molars in the posterior portion of the mouth. Once older they turn grey, brown greyish or dark olive. Younger wolf eels are orange with big dark spots in the posterior part of the body. The animal can grow up to 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) in length and 18.4 kg (41 lb) in weight. ocellatus differs from true eels, as they have paired gill slits and pectoral fins. Wolf eel at the Dallas Children's Aquarium Description Ī. The specific name ocellatus means “ocellated”, a reference to the eye like spots, or ocelli, on the dorsal fin and body. The Wolf eel’s genus name Anarrhichthys combines the wolffish genus Anarhichas, as this taxon has a similar head shape to the wolffishes, and ichthys, which means “fish”. This is one of two genera in the family Anarhichadidae, the other being Anarhichas. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Anarrichthys, which was also described by Ayres in 1855. The wolf eel was first formally described in 1855 by the American physician and ichthyologist William Orville Ayres with the type locality given as San Francisco Bay in California. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Anarrhichthys. Despite its common name and resemblance, it is not a true eel. I hope I have satiated your thirst for fishy knowledge, now enjoy some cool photos of wolf eels.The wolf eel ( Anarrhichthys ocellatus) is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Anarhichadidae, the wolf fishes. All 9 species of this family are found in the northern hemisphere, and only 1 species along the Pacific coast.

WOLF EEL PREDATORS SKIN

They are pretty tasty and the tanned skin makes a nice leather. This species is sacred to some coastal natives only the medicine man ate the mukah or “doctorfish” to enhance his healing powers. Rockfish and kelp greenlings will go after unguarded wolf eel eggs.įun Facts: It’s very popular for divers to hand feed wolf eels (but leave this to the professionals because their large teeth and powerful jaws can inflict a good amount of damage). Predators: Harbor Seals have been documented eating adult wolf eels. The female massages the eggs periodically to keep oxygen circulating. She will coil around the eggs and shape them into a sphere about the size of a grapefruit. Females become mature at 7 years and can lay up to 10,000 eggs at a time. Reproduction: Males and females pair for life (like penguins, but I would rather be a cool wolf eel). Juveniles tend to be an orange-y color with a yellow stripe along the fin. Males tend to have a lighter, more bulbous head than females. Females tend to have a slightly darker, smoother head than males. Has large pectoral fins (unlike moray eels who lack pectoral fins), no pelvic fins, and very long dorsal and anal fins. Juveniles eat small fish.ĭescription: Long, tapering body (eel-like) with large black ocellated spots (dark spots with a lighter ring around them, makes it look like an eye) on body and fins. They can be found up to 700 feet deep.ĭiet: Clams, snails, crabs, and urchins (in addition to canines, these eels have flat molars for crushing these heavily defended prey items).

Range: Sea of Japan and Aleutian Islands to Southern California Scientific Name: Anarrhichthys ocellatus ( Anarhichas is an ancient name for a related species, ichthys means fish, and ocellatus means eye-like spots. I find wolf eels pretty interesting and I thought I would do a critter spotlight on them (especially since this was a momentous occasion, my first wolf eel spotting at Monterey). It was pretty long (about 2 feet) and it was hanging out in a clump of reddish algae next to the pipe (we were on our way to the metridium fields). When I got home and was able to consult my Fish ID books, it turns out that it was a juvenile wolf eel. It looked a little bit like a wolf eel with its big, round head, pectoral fins, and spots, but I had never seen an orange one. It was a cool eel-like creature that was an orange-y-red color with spots along its back. Just the other day a friend and I went diving at San Carlos Beach AKA The Breakwater and we stumbled upon the little guy pictured above.

Wolf eel predators