CreatureData

Lai

Monopterus albus (Zuiew, 1793)

Status not recordedbony fish

The lai (Monopterus albus) is a species in the family Synbranchidae, order Synbranchiformes.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the lai

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the lai live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the lai as introduced in 4 countries, and flagged as invasive in 2 of them.

  1. Indonesiainvasive
  2. Japaninvasive
  3. Brunei
  4. United States

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the lai endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the lai classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classTeleostei
  4. orderSynbranchiformes
  5. familySynbranchidae
  6. genusMonopterus
  7. SpeciesMonopterus albus (Zuiew, 1793)

Synonyms Aptergia immaculata, Aptergia nigromaculata, Apterigia immaculata, Apterigia nigromaculata, Apterigia saccogularis, Cryptophthalmus robustus, Fluta alba, Gymnotus albus, Monopterus alba, Monopterus cinereus, Monopterus helvolus, Monopterus javanensis, Monopterus laevis, Monopterus marmoratus, Monopterus xanthognathus, Muraena alba, Ophicardia phayriana, Ophicardia phyariana, Ophicardia xanthognatha, Pneumabranchus cinereus, Symbranchus grammicus, Synbranchus grammicus, Synbranchus xanthognathus, Unibranchapertura laevis

Other names and names in other languages (35)
  • Asian swamp eelEnglish
  • BelutEnglish
  • Pa laiEnglish
  • Rice eelEnglish
  • Rice eel KiwetEnglish
  • Rice field eelEnglish
  • Rice paddy eelEnglish
  • Rice swampeelEnglish
  • Swamp eelEnglish
  • White rice-field eelEnglish
  • White ricefield eelEnglish
  • hrdložábřík bílýCzech
  • RisålDanish
  • Anguila asiática de pantanoSpanish
  • Belut SawahIndonesian
  • タウナギJapanese
  • WelutJavanese
  • 드렁허리Korean
  • IanLao
  • Ikan BelutMalay
  • Enguia-dos-pântanos-asiáticaPortuguese
  • Рисовый угорьRussian
  • ปลาไหลThai
  • LuonVietnamese
  • 田鰻Chinese
  • Ta-unagiJapanese
  • I'enLao
  • азиатский болотный угорьRussian
  • ปลาไหลนาThai
  • Pla LaiThai
  • Con lu'o'nVietnamese
  • LươnVietnamese
  • Lươn đồngVietnamese
  • 鳝鱼Chinese
  • 黃鱔Chinese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the lai

Other species in the same genus Monopterus.

CompareLai vs Monopterus roseniLai vs Monopterus bicolorLai vs Monopterus dienbienensis

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the lai an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the lai as invasive in 2 countries: Indonesia and Japan. It lists it as introduced in 4 in all.

What kind of animal is the lai?

The lai (Monopterus albus) belongs to the family Synbranchidae in the order Synbranchiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Lai (Monopterus albus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lai

MLA

“Lai (Monopterus albus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lai.

BibTeX
@misc{lai_2026,
  title = {Lai (Monopterus albus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lai},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}