Animal Species:Common Shore Eel, Alabes dorsalis (Richardson, 1845)
The Common Shore Eel is an elongate fish with a small head. Despite its standard name, it is not an eel. It is a temperate marine species that is endemic to Australia.
Standard Common Name
Common Shore Eel
Red-banded Shore Eel, Shore Eel, Striped Brown Shore Eel
The Common Shore Eel is an elongate fish with a small head and a narrow gill slit on the underside of the head. The continuous dorsal, anal and caudal fins lack fin rays. There are no scales or lateral line. The fish is usually brown, greenish or orange, often with large black blotches on the sides of the body. The Common Shore Eel is not related to the eels. It is actually a member of the family Gobiesocidae and is related to the Clingfishes.
The species grows to about 12 cm in length.
The species is endemic to Australia, occurring from southern Queensland to South Australia, including Tasmania.
The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.
Distribution by collection data
The Common Shore Eel is a temperate marine species that occurs in rocky reefs and inshore waters. It is commonly encountered in rockpools in Victoria and Tasmania.
- Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.
- Hutchins, J.B. Family Gobiesocidae. in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Tags Fishes, Ichthyology, Common Shore Eel, Alabes dorsalis, Gobiesocidae, elongate, small head, temperate water, marine, endemic to Australia, Red-banded Shore Eel, Shore Eel, Striped Brown Shore Eel, no scales, brown, green, orange, black blotches, blotches/mottled, not related to eel, Clingfish, 10 cm - 30 cm, rocky reef, inshore water,