My best eel yet

[SeaYoda]

I was on my way out of the cavern at Morrison springs when I spotted this guy. He held so still, unlike others I've taken pics of. My nitrogen was in the yellow so I snapped several shots and left him alone. I went into deco mode as I exited the cavern so I hung out at 30' until I cleared. It was worth the extra hassle. I still have to work on depth of field, but in my defense, I was focused a little more on the "live to dive another day" thing . I did have to crop some but I'm happy with it.

This is a picture just a few feet above the eel on my way out where my deco occured. The log in the distance sits at about 30' from the surface - that's where I hung out.

 

[archman]

That's an eel? Man, I've never seen anything like that. It's got pectorals and no visible teeth... must be one of those non-moray thingies.

How long do you estimate? It sure would look sweet in one of my aquariums.

 

[gypsyjim]

Nice shot. What kind of eel is it?

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

freshwater eel - they are common in the panhandle springs

Anguilla australis australis - i think

great shot

 

[SeaYoda]

If I remember correctly, they spend part of their life cycle out in the ocean. They don't have the teeth like the other fancy eels. I saw one on this dive that looked pretty old - it was about 3" in diameter and 4' - 5' long. That is probably the biggest I've seen.

 

[archman]

I can't find a single freshwater eel on Fishbase that has the speckling pattern seen on your photo Yoda... granted Florida is one of the great clearing-houses of non-native fishes, but you'd think there'd be a decent online eel site somewhere.

This is driving me nuts... maybe it's a "dirty" american eel.

 

[SeaYoda]

I can't find a single freshwater eel on Fishbase that has the speckling pattern seen on your photo Yoda... granted Florida is one of the great clearing-houses of non-native fishes, but you'd think there'd be a decent online eel site somewhere.

This is driving me nuts... maybe it's a "dirty" american eel.

Those speckles are dirt . Most of the older eels are a dark brown/green with no white spots. The young ones are a lighter tan color. Attached are pics of a younger and older eel.

 

[Dee]

Great shot, especially on the fly. You nailed the focus on the head and eye!

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

rick murchison is familiar with these eels - shoot him a pm - the info ive been told came from him

 

[archman]

Those speckles are dirt

Oh, well in THAT case... Anguilla rostrata, the generic american eel. Anguilla australis isn't supposed to be in Florida (yet), and that lamo asian eel doesn't have pectorals.

I was getting so desperate, I was looking up the salinity tolerances for speckled worm eels. Hooyah.