Gorgasia japonica Abe, Miki & Asai, 1977
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Pacific spaghetti eel (Gorgasia japonica) is a sand dwelling eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels). It was described by Tokiharu Abe, M. Miki and Minoru Asai in 1977. It is a marine, temperate water-dwelling eel which is known from the northwestern and southwestern Pacific Ocean, including Japan (from which its species epithet is derived) and New Zealand. It dwells at a maximum depth of 30 metres (98 ft). It is non-migratory, and inhabits sand flats near reefs. Males can reach a maximum total length of 100 centimetres (39 in); the diameter of the body is approximately 10 millimetres. Spaghetti eels will typically occur in large groups that can consist of hundreds of eels.
The Pacific spaghetti eel's diet consists of zooplankton.
Wikipedia contributors, Pacific spaghetti eel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:39:48.980110+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gorgasia japonica Abe, Miki & Asai, 1977
- Name authority
- Abe, Miki & Asai, 1977
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Congridae
- Genus
- Gorgasia
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderAnguilliformes
- familyCongridae Kaup, 1856
- subfamilyHeterocongrinae Günther, 1870
- genusGorgasia Meek & Hildebrand, 1923
- speciesGorgasia japonica Abe, Miki & Asai, 1977
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Gorgasia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Gorgasia cotroneii (D'Ancona, 1928) | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gorgasia inferomaculata (Blache, 1977) | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gorgasia preclara Böhlke & Randall, 1981 | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gorgasia sillneri Klausewitz, 1962 | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gorgasia barnesi Robison & Lancraft, 1984 | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gorgasia galzini Castle & Randall, 1999 | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gorgasia hawaiiensis Randall & Chess, 1980 | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gorgasia maculata Klausewitz & Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1959 | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gorgasia naeocepaea (Böhlke, 1951) | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| peppered garden eelGorgasia punctata Meek & Hildebrand, 1923 | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gorgasia taiwanensis Shao, 1990 | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Abe, T., Miki, M., & Asai, M. (1977). Description of a new garden eel from Japan. Uo. Japanese Society of Ichthyologists, 28: 1–8. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3H32T. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.