Teleostei (teleosts) >
Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) >
Congridae (Conger and garden eels) > Heterocongrinae
Etymology: Heteroconger: Greek, heteros = other + Latin, conger = conger (Ref. 45335); mercyae: Named for Mercy Paine, who discovered the eel colony and helped us collect the type specimens.
Eponymy: Mercy Paine (d: 1998) discovered the eel colony and helped the authors to collect the type specimens during a diving cruise with her family. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 4 - 10 m (Ref. 90102). Tropical
Western Pacific: Philippines, Indonesia (Kaiman, West Papua), but likely to occur as far east as Rabaul, New Britain (based on an underwater photo).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 67.8 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 82435)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal soft rays (total): 578 - 629; Anal soft rays: 390 - 432; Vertebrae: 204 - 213. This relatively slender species has the following distinct set of characters: dorsal-fin origin anterior to gill opening; with pterygoid teeth; body depth at gill opening 28.8-35.2% of HL; preanal vertebrae 62-71 (mean = 65), total vertebrae 204-213 (mean 207.4) ; preanal lateral-line
pores 63-69; body colouration consisting of zebra-like black and white barring on head grading to complex black and white maze pattern on body (Ref. 82435).
Body shape (shape guide): eel-like; Cross section: circular.
Collected from a single colony, occupying about 100 sq. m with approximately 50 eels at 5-6 m depth. The bottom is fine, silty sand and influenced by a freshwater stream along the adjacent shoreline, about 100 m distance, with the nearest reef formation about 50 m from the site (Ref. 82435).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Allen, G.R. and M.V. Erdmann, 2009. Heteroconger mercyae, a new species of garden eel (Congridae: Heterocongrinae) from West Papua, Indonesia. aqua, Int. J. Ichthyol. 15(3):135-142. (Ref. 82435)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
![Image of Heteroconger mercyae (Mercy\](/images/thumbnails/jpg/tn_Hemer_u0.jpg "Image of Heteroconger mercyae (Mercy\")
