Mastacembelidae

Mastacembelidae

The family Mastacembelidae includes 3 genera and about 86 species. They have a very large distribution area that runs from Africa, through Syria to Malaysia and China.

The Dutch name for this family is Spiny Eels. They look a lot like the real eels but are not. The real eels do not have hard spines in their fins like the spiny eels do. In addition, the spiny eels have a ligament (usually a kind of bridge between bones over a joint) that connects the pectoral muscles to the spine, this is missing in the real eels.

The scientific name is derived from the Greek: Mastax has several translations: beet, mondvol, bovenlip and emballo means something like throwing oneself up somewhere. The translation could mean that they can throw up their upper lip (to smell something).

Some species are caught for human consumption.