Anguilla

Anguilla is a genus of freshwater eels and the sole living genus in the family Anguillidae, comprising the family extant species and six subspecies. Members have elongated, snake-like bodies with long dorsal, caudal and anal fins forming a continuous fringe, and unlike most eels retain soft, thin scales embedded in the skin; females typically measure 1.5 to 3 feet and males rarely exceed 1.5 feet. Anguillid eels are catadromous, living their adult lives in fresh water but migrating to the ocean to spawn, with the European eel migrating up to 6,000 kilometers; the genus has a near-global distribution across more than 150 countries, mainly in tropical and temperate waters except the eastern Pacific and South Atlantic, and catches of the European eel have declined about 80 percent since the 1960s.