Page 133 - (DK) Super Shark Encyclopedia: And Other Creatures of the Deep

BURROW

BOLTER

GARDEN EEL

In the shallows of the ocean a colony of eels pokes out
from a patch of sand, looking more like a sprouting reedy
garden than a group of fish. They snap at tiny animals
floating by in the water, but keep a firm hold on their
burrows. If any danger threatens they can dart straight
back into the sand, tail first. A long body allows garden
eels to get almost everything they need within reach
of their burrows, so they rarely venture out for a swim.

AT A GLANCE

• SIZE 12–47 in (30–121 cm) long

• HABITAT Marine coastal waters, in colonies in coral sand
• LOCATION Worldwide, but with greatest number of
species in eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean
• DIET Small planktonic animals

STATS AND FACTS

DISTANCE BETWEEN NEIGHBORS
Garden eels stretch
in 5 10
out of their burrows
leaving a quarter
cm 10 20 30
of their body length
inside. Neighboring 9¾ in (25 cm) minimum
burrows are far DISTANCE EEL EMERGES
enough away to avoid
squabbles over food.
in 10 15 30
cm 20 40 60 80
8–32 in/20–80 cm (distance
eel emerges from burrow)
DIET
19% tiny soft–bodied animals
ON THE LOOKOUT
Dozens of garden eels face into BIGGEST COLONY
a stream of plankton carried 66% tiny shrimplike animals
15% eggs and larvae
on the ocean current. If a pair
of eyes spots danger, an eel 1,000
retreats into the burrow, and
all the others do the same.
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