New Zealand longfin eel: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the New Zealand longfin eel lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Anguilla dieffenbachii
Group	Bony fish
Status	Endangered (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	1 country
Continents	Oceania
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Anguilliformes
Family	Anguillidae

Where does the New Zealand longfin eel live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the New Zealand longfin eel in 1 country or territory across Oceania. Wikidata lists it as endemic to New Zealand.

New Zealand

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 New Zealand longfin eel endangered?

The New Zealand longfin eel’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Endangered” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the New Zealand longfin eel?

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

About the New Zealand longfin eel

The New Zealand longfin eel (Anguilla dieffenbachii) is a species of freshwater eel that is endemic to New Zealand. It is the largest freshwater eel in New Zealand and the only endemic species – the other eels found in New Zealand are the native shortfin eel (Anguilla australis), also found in Australia, and the naturally introduced Australian longfin eel (Anguilla reinhardtii). Longfin eels are long-lived, migrating to an unknown site in the tropical Pacific Ocean to breed at the end of their lives. They are good climbers as juveniles and so are found in streams and lakes a long way inland. An important traditional food source for Māori (who name them ōrea), longfin eel numbers are declining and they are classified as endangered, but over one hundred tonnes are still commercially fished each year.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article New Zealand longfin eel (revision 1377169262), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q614800 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).