European eel: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the European eel lives – recorded in 15 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Anguilla anguilla
Group	Bony fish
Status	Critically endangered (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	15 countries
Continents	Europe
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Anguilliformes
Family	Anguillidae

Where does the European eel live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the European eel in 15 countries and territories across Europe.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the European eel endangered?

The European eel’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Critically endangered” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the European eel?

The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a ray-finned fish in the order Anguilliformes and the family Anguillidae, genus Anguilla. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the European eel

The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a species of eel. Their life history was a mystery for thousands of years, and mating in the wild has not yet been observed. The five stages of their development were originally thought to be different species. They are critically endangered due to hydroelectric dams, overfishing by fisheries on coasts for human consumption, and parasites.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article European eel (revision 1381422929), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q26387 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).