Species Fact Profile: Wolf Eel (Anarrhichthys ocellatus)

                                                                  Wolf Eel

                                           Anarrhichthys ocellatus (Ayres, 1855)

Range: Northern Pacific Ocean

Habitat: Marine Caves, Rocky Crevices, Reefs, up to 225 meters deep

Diet: Marine Invertebrates (Crustaceans, Bivalves, Urchins), Fish

Social Grouping: Pairs

Reproduction: Monogamous, often for life.  Breed in fall and winter, with the male wrapping around the female and fertilizing her 10,000 eggs as she expels them.  The pair coil around the egg mass (about the size of a softball) for 3-4 months, taking turns to leave the eggs to feed, with the female circulating air around the eggs and massaging them to oxygenate them.  Larva may drift in water column for up to 2 years.  Young mature at 7 years

Lifespan: 20 Years

      Conservation Status: IUCN

• Grow up to 2.5 meters in length, weigh up 18 kilograms.  They have a single dorsal fin that runs the length of the body, a long, flexible, eel-like body, a small caudal fun, and no pelvic fins
• Males differ from females in having large lips and a protuberance on the top of the head
• Adults are greyish-brown or dark olive green with dark spotting.  Juveniles are orange with large dark spots.  Because of spotting, sometimes called the peacock wolf eel
• Pairs live in caves which they may remain in for their lives, unless forced out by a larger wolf eel
• Predators include large sharks and seals.  Main defense is hiding in crevices, powerful jaws.  Juveniles, which have smaller, weaker jaws, are more vulnerable to a variety of predators
• Prey is crushed with the hard teeth at the back of the jaw (captive specimens have shown a preference for eating softer prey than they would in the wild, such as squid)
• Despite its name, it is not a true eel, instead belonging to a separate family of ray-finned fish, the Anarhichadidae.  Unlike real eels, they have paired gill slits and pectoral fins
• In parts of the Pacific Northwest of America, wolf eels were called "doctor fish," as it was believed that only tribal healers were allowed to eat them; the flesh of the eels would enhance their healing abilities
• No commercial demand for a fishery; protected in some areas because of their popularity with divers and underwater photographers, as they can become quite tame