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The namespiny eel is used to describe members of two different families of fish: the freshwaterMastacembelidae of Asia and Africa, and the marine (and generally deep sea)Notacanthidae. Both are so-named because of theireel-like shape and sturdy fin spines. These two families are not related: theNotacanthiformes belong to the SuperorderElopomorpha, whose members are characterized by havingleptocephalus larvae. The freshwater Mastacembelids do not share this characteristic and are popular specimens in theaquarium trade.
Mastacembelid Spiny eels originate from three places. The Middle East, Southeast Asia and Subsaharan Africa.
In Africa alone there are 43 species known from two genera:Aethiomastacembelus, with 19 known species, andAfromastacembelus, with 24 known species. Spiny Eels from Sri Lanka, China, Southeast Asia and India are also from two genera:Macrognathus andMastacembelus. The most commonly found Spiny eels in the Aquarium trade are theMacrognathus andMastacembelus from Sri Lanka, China, Southeast Asia and India. These include such eels as the Peacock and Striped Peacock, the Tire Track and or White spotted eel, the Zig Zag, Fire, Siamese, and Zebra eels.
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