Protanguilla
Protanguilla palau is a species of eel, the only species in the genus Protanguilla (first eel), which is in turn the only genus in its family, Protanguillidae. Individuals were found swimming in March 2010 in a deep underwater cave in a fringing reef off the coast of Palau.
| Protanguilla | |
|---|---|
| (a) Holotype, female, 176 mm SL. (b–g) Paratype, juvenile, 65 mm SL; (c,d) head in lateral and ventral view; (e) gill opening; (f,g) stained body scales. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Suborder: | Protanguilloidei |
| Family: | Protanguillidae G.D. Johnson, H. Ida & Miya, 2012 |
| Genus: | Protanguilla G.D. Johnson, H. Ida & Miya, 2012 |
| Species: | P. palau |
| Binomial name | |
| Protanguilla palau G. D. Johnson, H. Ida & Sakaue, 2012 | |
Protanguillidae is a sister group to all other eels. They are monophyletic, yet also strongly synapomorphic with all other eel species. Molecular analysis shows that all other eels are also monophyletic, showing that they may have broken off directly from the Protanguillidae. For this reason it is known as a "living fossil".
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