Author: [Artedi, 1738] Linnaeus, 1758
Conger conger [Artedi, 1738] Linnaeus, 1758
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Conger conger (Linnaeus, 1758) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: snake-like body, slightly compressed anteriorly, well compressed posteriorly to anus, the latter before midpoint of body; dorsal outline of head convex, depressed over eye. Eye small, inter-orbital space broad and flat. Anterior nostril opening on snout extremity in a short tube directed forward; posterior nostril an oval pore, before and near eye. Mouth rictus at level of posterior edge of eye; snout slightly prominent; very large labial flange. In both jaws, an outer row of big incisiform teeth, close set, forming a cutting edge and an inner row of small conical and sharp teeth; larger conical teeth on premaxillary plate and vomer. Gill openings sublateral, crescentiform. Lateral line: 44- 47 preanal pores, 6 prepectoral; only 1 supra-temporal pore. Vertebrae: total 148-153; abdominal 53-57. Colour: more or less dark grey; lateral line pores marked with white; dorsal and anal fins with a black margin. Size: to 3 m, males usually smaller than females.
Habitat: benthic on the shelf on rocky or sandy bottoms at O-100 m. Food: fishes, crustaceans and cephalopods. Reproduction: sexual maturity at 5-15 years old; spawning in summer, 3-8 million eggs per individual. Leptocephali with a long larval life; metamorphosis at 14-16 cm; very fast growth of young.
Distribution: eastern North Atlantic northward to Norway, also Mediterranean and western Black Sea. Elsewhere, southward to Senegal.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. Gronow, 1763: 135, pl. 13 (fig. 3) | Scopoli, 1777: 453 | Bonnaterre, 1788: 39, pl. 86 (fig. 359) (Leptocephalus lineatus) | Gmelin apud Linnaeus, 1789, 3: 1150 (Leptocephalus morrisii) | Lacepède, 1800, 2: 142, pl. 3 (fig. 12) (Leptocephalus morrisianus) | Schneider apud Bloch, 1801: 133, pl. 108 (fig. 2) | Shaw, 1803: 84 | Rafinesque-Schmaltz, 1810b: 49, 62, pl. 2 (fig. 3) (Helmictis punctatus) | Risso, 1810: 85 (Leptocephalus spallanzani); 1810: 152, pl. 5 (fig. 19) (Lepidopus pellucidus) | Pennant, 1812: 212, pl. 28 | Montagu, 1816: 436, pl. 22 (fig. 1) | Leach, 1817, 3: 10, pl. 126 | Cuvier, 1817: 238 | Quoy and Gaimard, 1824: 248 | Risso, 1826, 3: 205 | Fleming, 1828: 200 | Cuvier, 1829, 2: 358 | Cocco, 1829: 139 (Leptocephalus gussoni); 1831: 1340 | Couch, 1832a: 313 (Ophidium pellucidum); 1832b: 742 | Deere, 1833: 530, fig. 64 | Jenyns, 1835a: 480 | Yarrell, 1836: 311, 313, 414 | Bonaparte, 1845: 40 | Costa, 1846: pl. 20 (fig. 1-2) (Leptocephalus candidissimus) | Richardson, 1848: 51 | Gray, 1851: 114 | Rüppell, 1852, 23 | Kölliker, 1853a: 360 (Leptocephalus vitreus) | Peach, 1854: 238 | Kaup, 1856: 147-148, 150, pl. 17 (fig. 7-8) (Leptocephalus stenops pro parte); 1860c: 271 | Gill, 1864: 207 | Couch, 1865, 4: 348, pl. 340 | Günther, 1870, 8: 136, 139, 141 | Dareste, 1873a: 1304;1873b: 295 | Edwards, 1878: 60 | Day, 1880: 250 | Moreau, 1881, 3: 567 | Facciolà, 1882a: 168 | Bellotti, 1883: 171-172 | Facciolà, 1883a: 3, 5, pl. 4 (fig. 5) (Leptocephalus inaequalis); 1883b: 147 | Delage, 1886: 698-699 | Vaillant, 1888: 95 | Carus, 1889-1893, 2: 547 | Cunningham, 1891: 36-38 | Grassi and Calandruccio, 1892: 375, 377, 379 | Jordan and Davis, 1892: 664-666 | Facciolà, 1893a: 99, 101, 123; 1893b: 194, 223, 255, 288, 310-311; 1893c: 27, 57-58 | Grassi and Calandruccio, 1893b: 450 | Facciolà, 1894a: 125; 1894b: 133-134; 1895a: 44 | Cunningham, 1895a: 279-280; 1895c: 73; 1896: 204, fig. 99 | Grassi, 1896: 371 | Grassi and Calandruccio, 1896a: 241 | Strömman, 1896: 1, 12 | Grassi and Calandruccio, 1897e: 405 | Facciolà, 1897a: 117; 1897b: 122 | Grassi, 1897a: 261 | McIntosh and Masterman, 1897: 456 | Cunningham, 1897: 467, fig. I | Chevrel, 1898: 247-248 | Facciolà, 1898: 104 | Lo Bianco, 1899: 555 | Scott, 1899: 85 | Eigenmann, 1900: 401 | Facciolà, 1901a: 41, 44-45, pl. 6 (fig. 1), pl. 7 (fig. 612); 1901b: 251-252 | Eigenmann, 1902a: 39, 44; 1902b: 10, pl. 2 (fig. 5-12), pl. 4 (fig. 11-14) | Herdman and Dawson, 1902: 62 | Lo Bianco, 1903: 157 | Facciolà, 1903: 185-186, 192 | Eigenmann, 1904: 629, fig. I | Fulton, 1904: 251, 281-282, pl. 18 (fig. 1-2); 1905: 251 | Collett, 1905b: 47 | Jordan, 1905, 2: 149, fig. 106 | Schmidt, 1906a: 146-149, 154, 189, fig. 5b c, pl. 9 (fig. 8-9) | Holt and Byrne, 1907: 197 | Gilson, 1908a: 24; 1908b: 132 | Ridewood, 1908: 117 | Zacharias, 1908: 685 | Schmidt, 1909c: 1, 16, pl.1 (fig. 1-3), pl. 3, tab. 3 | Ehrenbaum, 1909: 384, fig. 146 | Holt, 1909: 13, fig. 1-3 | Lo Bianco, 1909: 709 | Mazzarelli, 1909: 183 | Laloy, 1910: 207 | Schmidt, 1911b: 377, fig. 1; 1911c: 62, fig. 1-2 | Krebs, 1911a: 180 | Reichard, 1911: 186 | Schmidt, 1912b: 323, 339; 1912d: 40; 1912f: 409, 411 | Murray and Hjort, 1912b: 62, fig. 72 | Grassi, 1913: 8-10, 47, 55-56, 63, 201, pl. 2, pl. 14 (fig. 13) | Schmidt, 1913: 4, fig. 1 | Bowman, 1913: 8 | Lea, 1913: 17, 25, fig. 20, pl. 4, no. 3 (Leptocephalus enchodon) | Grassi, 1914a: 43, fig. 1 | Pietschmann, 1914: 457 | Grassi, 1915: 695 | Schmidt, 1916: 15 | Ford, 1920: 249 | Clark, 1920: 181 | Schmidt, 1924c: 31 | Bertin, 1926: 331, tab. 4-6 | Fish, 1927: 307-308 | Ancona, 1928a: 517 | Whitley, 1929b: 106 | Ancona, 1930: pl. 134 (fig. 2) | Schmidt, 1931c: 603, fig. 1-2 | Ford, 1931: 996 | Ancona, 1931: 102, 108, fig. 64-68 | Sparck, 1932: 902 | Legendre, 1934: 310 | Bertin, 1935b: 104; 1935d:180 | Buen, 1935: 61 | Bruun, 1937b: 24, fig. 16 | Whitley, 1937: 9 | Sparta, 1939b: 4 | Poll, 1947: fig. 112 | Ley, 1949: 96 | Muus and Dahlström, 1964: 86 | Castle, 1963: 18, 35, 39, 41, 43, 45, 48, 51-53, 56, 63.
Otoliths (sagitta). Scott, 1906: 79 | Frost, 1926a: 101 | Sanz Echeverría, 1928: 164; 1929: 72 | Chaine, 1938a: 234.