Ringeye Conger, Paraconger californiensis

Ringeye Conger, Paraconger californiensis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Point Palmilla, Baja California Sur, April 2015. Length: 47 cm (19 inches). Tail: 58% of TL.

Ringeye Conger, Paraconger californiensis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Loreto, Baja California Sur, December 2023. Length: 57 cm (22 inches). Tail: 57% of TL.  Photograph of teeth and identification courtesy of Dr. Benjamin Victor, Coralreeffish.com.

The Ringeye Conger, Paraconger californiensis, is a member of the Conger Eel or Congridae Family, and is known in Mexico as congrio anteojos. Globally, there are seven species in the genus Paraconger, three of which are found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic Ocean and two in the Pacific Ocean.

The Ringeye Conger has an elongated cylindrical “eel-like” body. They are tan to reddish brown in color transitioning to silver ventrally. Their eyes have a dark brown ring encircling 80% of the iris but completely missing at the bottom (after which they are named). There is a small dark blotch immediately behind the top edge of their eyes. The margins of their anal and dorsal fins are black. Their head has a rounded tapering snout, a large mouth, and large eyes. Their caudal fin is short, stiff, and has a white tip; and, their dorsal fin originates over their well-developed pectoral fins. Their tail length is reported to be 67% of total length, however the five fish I have encountered have had tails between 58% and 60%. They have a complete lateral line.

The Ringeye Conger is a demersal species that is found buried within coastal sandy substrate at depths between 15 m (50 feet) and 70 m (230 feet). They reach a maximum of 60 cm (2 feet 0 inches) in length. The Ringeye Conger is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Ringeye Conger is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the exception that they are absent from northern portions of the Sea of Cortez and from along the entire West coast of Baja.

The Ringeye Conger is similar to and can be confused with the Sharpnose Conger, Ariosoma gilberti (tail 50% of total length; lacks dark ring within eye) and the Shorttail Conger, Paraconger similis (tail 56 to 58% of total length; dark ring only upper half of iris).

From a conservation perspective the Ringeye Conger is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are relatively small in stature, exceedingly rare, and of limited interest to most.