Common Snook vs European Eel

Centropomus undecimalis comparado com Anguilla anguilla

Taxonomy & Classification

Atributo	Common Snook	European Eel
Nome Científico	Centropomus undecimalis	Anguilla anguilla
Ordem	Perciformes	Elopomorpha
Família	Centrachidae	Megalopidae
Conservation Status	Least Concern	Critically Endangered

Physical Traits

Atributo	Common Snook	European Eel
Comprimento Máximo	140,0 cm	133,0 cm
Peso Máximo	24,3 kg	6,6 kg
Cor	Pale golden-olive to grayish-brown back with silvery flanks; a bold black lateral stripe runs from the operculum to the tail; belly pale yellow-white; fins are yellowish with a dusky posterior dorsal fin.	Yellow-olive to olive-brown back and sides in the freshwater 'yellow eel' phase; maturing 'silver eel' phase develops a dark gray-black back with a silvery-white belly and enlarged eyes.

Habitat & Environment

Atributo	Common Snook	European Eel
Tipo de Água	Freshwater & Saltwater	Freshwater & Saltwater
Faixa de Profundidade	?-22m	0-700m
Distribuição Geográfica	Western Atlantic from South Carolina south through the Gulf of Mexico, entire Caribbean, and along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Central America to Brazil. …	Spawns in the Sargasso Sea and larvae drift to European and North African coasts on the Gulf Stream. Adults inhabit rivers, lakes, and coastal waters …
Habitat	Neritic, estuaries	Estuaries

Informações de Pesca

Atributo	Common Snook	European Eel
Peixe Esportivo	Sim	Sim
Classificação de Resistência	8/10	—
Recorde Mundial	—	—
Nível de Mercúrio	—	—

Cuisine & Edibility

Common Snook

Sweet, firm white flesh with a mild, clean flavor; low fat and large flakes. Highly regarded as table fare in Florida and the Caribbean; excellent grilled, blackened, or pan-seared.

European Eel

Rich, fatty flesh with a distinctive earthy flavor; classically smoked, jellied (in Britain), or grilled kabayaki-style. Critically Endangered — consumption strongly discouraged; population down 90%.

Species Overview

Common Snook

The common snook is a prized inshore game fish found in tropical western Atlantic waters. It is highly sensitive to cold water and cannot survive temperatures below 12 degrees Celsius. Its lateral line is distinctive — a bold black stripe.

European Eel

The European eel undertakes one of nature's most remarkable migrations, traveling 5,000 km from European rivers to the Sargasso Sea to spawn and die. Despite centuries of study, its breeding grounds were only recently confirmed.