Kaup's arrowtooth eel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kaup's arrowtooth eel |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Synaphobranchidae |
| Genus: | Synaphobranchus |
| Species: |
S. kaupii
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| Binomial name | |
| Synaphobranchus kaupii Johnson, 1862
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| Synonyms | |
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The Kaup's arrowtooth eel (Synaphobranchus kaupii) is a fascinating deep-sea fish. It's also known by other names like the Kaup's cut-throat eel or the Northern cutthroat eel. This unique eel belongs to a family called cutthroat eels. It was first described by a scientist named James Yate Johnson in 1862.
About the Kaup's Arrowtooth Eel
The Kaup's arrowtooth eel is a type of eel that lives in the ocean. It prefers very deep waters, far below where sunlight can reach. These eels are found in many parts of the world. They live in the Indo-Western Pacific Ocean and both the eastern and western Atlantic Ocean.
Where It Lives
This deep-sea eel can be found in many different places. These include the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland in the north. They also live near Cape Verde, Western Sahara, Nigeria, Namibia, and South Africa in warmer waters. You can find them near France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Portugal in Europe. Across the Atlantic, they are in Canada, the Bahamas, Brazil, and Cuba. They also live in the Pacific near the Philippines, Japan, Australia, and Hawaii.
The Kaup's arrowtooth eel lives at incredible depths. It can be found from about 120 meters (390 feet) down to 4,800 meters (15,700 feet). Most often, it lives between 400 and 2,200 meters (1,300 to 7,200 feet) deep. This is in a very deep part of the ocean called the upper abyssal zone, usually on the continental slope. These eels cannot survive in warmer, shallower waters.
What It Eats
The name kaupii comes from a naturalist named Johann Jakob Kaup. The Kaup's arrowtooth eel is sometimes eaten by a fish called Coryphaenoides rupestris. But what does this eel eat? Its diet includes many different small creatures from the ocean floor. It eats bottom-dwelling crustaceans like decapods (which include crabs and shrimp) and amphipods. It also eats tiny floating crustaceans like euphausiids and mysids. Sometimes, it hunts cephalopods, which are creatures like squid, including species of Rossia. It also eats small bony fish like Macroramphosus scolopax.
Why It's Important
The Kaup's arrowtooth eel is not usually caught for food by people. It has no commercial interest for fisheries. However, it is sometimes caught by accident. This happens when fishermen are using long lines with bait or special traps to catch other fish. This accidental catch is called "by-catch."
Scientists keep track of ocean animals to make sure they are safe. The IUCN redlist is a list that shows if animals are endangered. Because the Kaup's arrowtooth eel is found in so many places and there are many of them, it is currently listed as "Least Concern." This means it is not considered to be in danger of disappearing.
 | Selma Burke |
 | Pauline Powell Burns |
 | Frederick J. Brown |
 | Robert Blackburn |
