CreatureData

Peacock eel

Macrognathus siamensis (Günther, 1861)

Status not recordedbony fish

The peacock eel (Macrognathus siamensis) is a species in the family Mastacembelidae, order Synbranchiformes.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the peacock 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 peacock eel live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the peacock eel as introduced in 2 countries.

  1. Mexico
  2. 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 peacock 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 peacock eel classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classTeleostei
  4. orderSynbranchiformes
  5. familyMastacembelidae
  6. genusMacrognathus
  7. SpeciesMacrognathus siamensis (Günther, 1861)

Synonyms Mastacembelus siamensis, Rhynchobdella aculeata siamensis

Other names and names in other languages (9)
  • Spinning eelEnglish
  • Spotfin spiny eelEnglish
  • Spotted spiny eelEnglish
  • hrotočelec siamskýCzech
  • PåfuglesnabelålDanish
  • Макрогнатус сиамскийRussian
  • ปลาหลดThai
  • Tarak BalığıTurkish
  • ปลาหลดจุดThai

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the peacock eel

Other species in the same genus Macrognathus.

Spiny eel

Macrognathus aral

MastacembelidaeNo free photo yet

ComparePeacock eel vs Lesser spiny eelPeacock eel vs Spiny eelPeacock eel vs Barred spiny eelPeacock eel vs Zebra spiny eel

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the peacock eel an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the peacock eel as introduced in 2 countries: Mexico and United States, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the peacock eel?

The peacock eel (Macrognathus siamensis) 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.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Peacock eel (Macrognathus siamensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/peacock-eel

MLA

“Peacock eel (Macrognathus siamensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/peacock-eel.

BibTeX
@misc{peacock_eel_2026,
  title = {Peacock eel (Macrognathus siamensis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/peacock-eel},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}