eel
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an eel, joined fins
a kind of fish – bony fish – with a long thin snake-like body and smooth slippery skin with no or a few weak scales and very small fins – the fins on the back and the belly are joined together to form one continuous fringe around the elongated body; grows to different lengths at different stages of life – some grow to 4 feet long, some up to 8 feet long and 1 foot thick and weigh about 20 Kg, some others may reach the length of 16 feet; feeds (eats) on other small fish, crabs, clams, the eggs and the larvae of other fish, and some kinds may eat little plant life now and then; about 800 species of ‘true eels’ found all over the world
female ~~ female
baby ~~ leptocephalus (very small – larvae stage); elver (little grown up – juvenile)
group ~~ bed / swarm
home ~~ eel pit (holes or gaps in the rocks in water ,in the wild); aquarium / eel tank (man-made)
eels look like water snakes
Eels are an important source of food in many parts of the world.
‘Spiny eels’ and ‘swamp eels’ are not ‘true eels’; they are fish that look like eels but are related to the ‘catfish’.
The ‘electric eel’ of Africa, which produces a lot of electric current that gives a terrible shock to the attackers, including humans, is not a true eel.
Most species of ‘fresh water eels’ live most of their time in fresh water but spawn (= lay eggs) in salt water. They make a journey of thousands of miles – from sea to fresh water rivers, ponds or streams growing along the way, and back to the sea water places where they were born to lay their eggs there!
When eels are attacked or disturbed, they release large amount of slime (= slippery substance, like thick oil) to help them slip away from danger!
After making a journey of thousands of miles to the place they were born, the adult males and females spawn (= lay eggs) and then die soon after!!
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