Not to be confused with the life stage silver eel of the European eel.
The silver eel (Ariosoma mellissii), also known as the Melliss's conger,[3] is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels).[4] It was described by Albert Günther in 1870.[5] It is a rare tropical, marine eel which is known solely from St. Helena, in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean. It is known to dwell at a maximum depth of 67 meters. Males can reach a maximum total length of 42.8 centimetres.[4]
Named in honor of John Charles Melliss (1835-1911), amateur naturalist and government surveyor on St. Helena (island in the South Atlantic), who presented the type specimen to the British Museum (Natural History).[6]
^Günther, A., 1870 (25 June) [ref. 1995] Catalogue of the fishes in the British Museum. Catalogue of the Physostomi, containing the families Gymnotidae, Symbranchidae, Muraenidae, Pegasidae, and of the Lophobranchii, Plectognathi, Dipnoi, ...[thru] ... Leptocardii, in the British Museum. v. 8: i-xxv + 1-549.
.jpg){kind=small}