Genus: Chiloconger, Conger Eels

CHILOCONGER

CONGER EELS

Elongate; head cylindrical; tail long (60% of TL); body compressed, especially at rear; snout short (< eye), blunt; mouth ~ horizontal, opens at front; lips with large, fleshy flanges at sides, top jaw flange much wider than that on bottom jaw; hollowed-out area behind top flange and under eye separated by inclined partition; front nostril a short tube at tip of top jaw; rear nostril a raised hole, in contact with front of eye; a tubed pore above and in contact with both rear nostril and eye;  eye large (~ 22% of head length), well forward; teeth small, conical, close-set, in 3 rows on both jaws, in patch on roof of mouth; gill openings large, vertical, relatively far apart below (~ length of gill opening); pectoral fin well developed,  top of base above top of gill opening; dorsal origin over middle of pectoral; fin rays not segmented; dorsal and anal fins continuous with rounded tail fin; tip of tail stiff.

This genus, with 2 species, is endemic to the tropical eastern Pacific.