📸 PhotoPhoto: Adolsomee · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Zig-zag eel
Mastacembelus armatus (Zig-zag eel · Zig-zag eel)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum length of 90 cm is slightly longer than a baseball bat (about 85 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 FishBase notes that it is sold fresh in markets and is also frequently traded as an aquarium fish.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The zig-zag eel is an eel-shaped fish living in freshwaters of South and Southeast Asia. It stays close to the bottom and rarely rises unless disturbed.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body is elongated like an eel, with 1–3 dark zigzag stripes over a dull brown background. Its dorsal fin has 33–40 spines.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
At night, it feeds little by little on bottom-dwelling insect larvae, worms, and submerged plants. During the dry season it stays over rocky bottoms in the Mekong mainstream, moving into canals, lakes, and floodplains during the flood season.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2019) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/166586/60592409
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 3YCJ4
- • iucnredlist.org — 60592409
- • wikidata.org — Q2045293
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Tire Track Eel.jpg
- • fishbase.se — Mastacembelus-armatus.html
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.