Heteroconger mercyae Allen & Erdmann, 2009
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
Heteroconger mercyae, or Mercy's garden eel, is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels). It was described by Gerald R. Allen and Mark van Nydeck Erdmann in 2009. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western Pacific Ocean, including the Philippines, Indonesia, and possibly New Britain. It is known to dwell at a depth of 4 to 10 m (13 to 33 ft), and inhabit sediments of silt-like sand. Males can reach a maximum total length of 67.8 cm (26.7 in).
Wikipedia contributors, Heteroconger mercyae; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:47:53.929597+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Heteroconger mercyae Allen & Erdmann, 2009
- Name authority
- Allen & Erdmann, 2009
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Congridae
- Genus
- Heteroconger
- 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
- genusHeteroconger Bleeker, 1868
- speciesHeteroconger mercyae Allen & Erdmann, 2009
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Heteroconger. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Heteroconger cobra Böhlke & Randall, 1981 | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Heteroconger congroides (D'Ancona, 1928) | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cortez garden eelHeteroconger digueti (Pellegrin, 1923) | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Heteroconger enigmaticus Castle & Randall, 1999 | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Heteroconger hassi (Klausewitz & Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1959) | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Heteroconger klausewitzi (Eibl-Eibesfeldt & Köster, 1983) | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Heteroconger lentiginosus Böhlke & Randall, 1981 | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Heteroconger obscurus (Klausewitz & Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1959) | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| speckled garden eelHeteroconger pellegrini Castle, 1999 | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Heteroconger tomberua Castle & Randall, 1999 | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Heteroconger balteatus Castle & Randall, 1999 | CongridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Heteroconger fugax Koeda, Fujii & Motomura, 2018 | 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.
- Allen, G. R., & Erdmann, M. V. (2009). Heteroconger mercyae, a new species of garden eel (Congridae: Heterocongrinae) from West Papua, Indonesia. Aqua, Intl. J. Ichthyol. 15(3):135-142. 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:6LT28. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.