DAGGER TOOTH PIKE CONGER EEL – Muraenesox cinereus (Forsskal, 1778)

Daggertooth pike conger eels ready to be sold in auction at Parangipettai

A dagger is a fighting weapon with a very sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. The dagger tooth pike conger eel is named so because of the sharp pointed dagger-like teeth in the upper and lower jaws. A fish belonging to the eel group, it is slimy, serpentine-like with an elongated body.

Head and body are dark to grey/black in colouration while the ventral side is lighter. The margin of dorsal fin, anal fins and the tip of pectoral fins are black. This fish can grow to a size of about 200 cm. The body is scale-less and compressed posterior. Large eyes and tubular nostrils make it look like a dinosaur of the bygone years. In addition to the dagger-like tooth there is a middle row of prominent sharp tricuspid (three pointed structured) teeth.

Closer view of the head region

The dagger tooth pike conger eel occurs in the littoral zone (The littoral zone is the part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore). They prefer soft bottoms and are also found entering into estuaries. This species has the capacity to enter freshwater environments. It is a recent immigrant from the Red Sea. M. cinereus is also recorded from the Red Sea and throughout the northern Indian Ocean to Indonesia and northwards to Japan.

Muraensox cinereus feeds on small fishes and crustaceans. A research work was carried out by Indian scientists Devadoss and Pillai on the feeding behaviour by analyzing the gut contents in the early seventies. The list of food identified by them include mackerel, clupeids, carangids, apogonids, flat fish, flying fish, young eel, Catfish, squids, gastropods and shrimps.

The dagger tooth pike conger eel is a delicacy in south-east Asia. They are both captured and cultured in Japan. HAMO or “Dagger tooth Pike Conger” is considered to be a summer seasonal symbolic fish in Kansai (Kyoto and Osaka). In India, it is sold in the local market for an inexpensive price. This picture was shot at Porto Novo (called Parangipettai now) fish landing centre where middlemen readily purchase the harvest. Fishing is carried out by using hook and line or by operation of dol (bag) nets.

Taxonomic position

 Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Superclass: Gnathostomata/ Pisces?

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Anguilliformes

Family: Muraenesocidae

Genus: Muraenesox

Species: M. cinereus

Author: (Forsskal, 1775)

 Reference

______ . Devadoss. P and P. K. Mahadevan Pillai. Observations on the food and feeding habits of the eel, Muraenesox cinereus (Forskal) from Porto Novo.

© Deepak Samuel, October 2013