CreatureData

Lesser spiny eel

Macrognathus aculeatus (Bloch, 1786)

Status not recordedbony fish

The lesser spiny eel (Macrognathus aculeatus) is a species in the family Mastacembelidae, order Synbranchiformes.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the lesser spiny eel

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 lesser spiny eel live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the lesser spiny eel as introduced in 1 country.

  1. Mexico

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 lesser spiny eel 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 lesser spiny eel classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classTeleostei
  4. orderSynbranchiformes
  5. familyMastacembelidae
  6. genusMacrognathus
  7. SpeciesMacrognathus aculeatus (Bloch, 1786)

Synonyms Macroganthus aculeatus, Macrognathus aculeata, Macrognathus aculeatum, Macrognathus ocellatus, Macrograthus aculeatus, Mastacembelus aculeatus, Ophidium aculeatum, Ophidium rostratum, Rhynchobdella aculeata, Rhynchobdella ocellata, Rhynchobdella orientalis, Rhyncobdella aculeata, Rhyncobdella ocellata

Other names and names in other languages (2)
  • Elephant trunk fishEnglish
  • তারা বাইনBangla

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the lesser spiny eel

Other species in the same genus Macrognathus.

Peacock eel

Macrognathus siamensis

MastacembelidaeNo free photo yet

Spiny eel

Macrognathus aral

MastacembelidaeNo free photo yet

CompareLesser spiny eel vs Peacock eelLesser spiny eel vs Spiny eelLesser spiny eel vs Barred spiny eelLesser spiny eel vs Zebra spiny eel

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the lesser spiny eel an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the lesser spiny eel as introduced in 1 country: Mexico, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the lesser spiny eel?

The lesser spiny eel (Macrognathus aculeatus) belongs to the family Mastacembelidae in the order Synbranchiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Lesser spiny eel (Macrognathus aculeatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-spiny-eel

MLA

“Lesser spiny eel (Macrognathus aculeatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-spiny-eel.

BibTeX
@misc{lesser_spiny_eel_2026,
  title = {Lesser spiny eel (Macrognathus aculeatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-spiny-eel},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}