This month's article series will discuss, Vancouver Island, Canada. Vancouver Canada is an extremely southern Island of Canada, very close to the border from Washington State. It is the world’s 43rd largest Island, & it belongs to the country of Canada. It is across the Strait of Georgia from the metropolitan area of Vancouver. Its capital is Victoria, which resides on the southern tip of the island, in the administrative district known as the “Capital Regional District”. It has an approximate population of 864,000. The highest elevation on the island is the Golden Hinde Mountain, In the Vancouver Island Ranges. It is approximately 7,201 feet (2,194.865 meters) in height. The island itself is approximately 10.73 Nautical Miles (12.347863 miles or 19.87196 kilometers) from the nearest mainland area, that area being Washington State. The island is famed for its untamed beaches, beautiful rainforests, & fascinating wildlife. The island has a stunning mountain range that blends in with the coastline, & the temperate rainforests, creating a unique clash of terrain. Additionally, its proximity to both Washington State, & Canada, makes it so that creatures from both can migrate over from each area quickly. This creates a strange ecological environment, which can attract some of the strangest species. One of these species is the Wolf Eel. The wolf eel is a rather peculiar-looking creature, that lives in the cold waters surrounding Vancouver Island. It hails from the monotypic genus of Annarrichthys. It is one of the few species of eel which is monogamous. It is technically not a true eel, as it does not belong to the order of Anguilliformes, the order of all true eels. It is, a sculpin, which is extremely strange. As juveniles, they are extremely identifiable, as when they are young they are a bright orange color with purple pattern on them. Occasionally they get itchy, & can be seen swimming upside down & in other strange ways along rocks, to scratch themselves. In this article, we will discuss the Discovery & Life of the Wolf Eel, the Mating Cycles, Tactics, Strategies, Practices, & Procedures of the Wolf Eel, the Distribution of the Wolf Eel, & the Scientific Detailings of the Wolf Eel. With that being said, let us delve into the rather peculiar Wolf Eel.
The Discovery & Life Of The Wolf Eel
The Wolf Eel was first described in 1855, by the Connecticut-born ichthyologist, William Orville Ayres. The type locality first given when it was discovered was San Fransisco Bay, Located in California. It is unknown how exactly he discovered it. The Wolf Eel can reach up to 8.2 feet (2.49936 meters) long. Additionally, it can reach up to 41 pounds (18.5973 kilograms) in weight. Neither of these changes is based on the sex of the individual eel. The average life span for a Wolf Eel is approximately 25 years in the wild, & 20 years in captivity. They can be trained for hunting purposes, which shows a certain level of intelligence. Aside from that, very little is known about the intelligence of the Wolf Eel. Unfortunately, since the Wolf Eel is not a true eel, we cannot accurately estimate how long the species has existed. Additionally, we cannot confidently say any species that Wolf Eels evolved from. Since Wolf Eels have a cartilaginous skeleton, they have known fossils. They are not often social with one another, aside from mating, & are quite shy. They tend to live in solitude until meeting a lifelong mate. They are not aggressive towards humans, unless provoked, & are allegedly quite friendly towards divers. Due to their powerful jaws, they can inflict a painful bite wound on those who provoke it. They have been captured by humans before & are currently being kept in many different aquariums. As a species, they are undoubtedly being monitored or observed by independent or public scientific institutions. The speed at which it is capable of swimming has never been measured. They swim by moving their tail through the water, which propels them forward. They effectively, slither through the water, like a sea snake. It is unknown how Wolf Eels sleep as a species, but what is known is how regular eels sleep, which is presumably similar to how this species sleeps. Eels sleep by resting only part of their brain so that they can softly rock back & forth, & open their mouth to get water across their gills. They don’t migrate in the typical sense, as they tend to stay in the same area for their entire lives. As they age, they will migrate deeper & deeper into the ocean, which is why the closer to the surface you go, the younger nearby Wolf Eels typically are. Their diets largely consist of crustaceans, sea urchins, mussels, snails, abalones, clams, & various small fish species. Their powerful jaw is made for puncturing the exoskeleton of crustaceans, & the shells of clams. They are not cannibalistic in any form. They seem to be diurnal hunters, though they may hunt in the night as well. Their metabolism seems to be similar to most other fast-moving eel species. Since they have fairly good eyesight, they will hide in rocks, & then whenever they spot prey, go darting after it. It is currently unclear how much they eat per day in the wild. The main predators of adult Wolf Eels are Harbour Seals, various shark species, & a few large fish species. The Adult Wolf Eel has a very stoney face, that helps it blend into the rocks. They are a dark purple or grey color, with a thick slime coating on their skin. The males are slightly lighter than the females. They are extremely skinny creatures as well. Their lips are certainly very large & hang down & off their face slightly. They have a large dorsal fin that goes down the full length of their body.
The Mating Cycles, Tactics Strategies, Practices, & Procedures Of The Wolf Eel
Wolf Eels breed via sexual reproduction, & cannot breed via asexual reproduction. They are monogamous, & usually mate for life when they find a partner. They are also not hermaphroditic in any way, & cannot change sexes, though genetic anomalies can occur in which a Wolf Eel is intersex, or just has no determinable sex. They usually pair with one another at 4 years old, & then breed when they are 7 years old. They will usually find a cave together, to lay their eggs in. After this, they will engage in the actual mating ritual, though the contents of the ritual itself are unclear. After this, the female may lay up to 10,000 eggs at once. Then, the female will wrap herself around the eggs to protect them, & the father will wrap himself around her. The female will occasionally writhe against the eggs to send oxygenated water around them. The eggs will then gestate for 13 to 16 weeks (2.99178 to 3.68219 months). After this, they will hatch, & go off into the ocean on their own. When they hatch they will be approximately 1.6 inches (4.064 centimeters). They will first eat zooplankton, then work their way up to bigger animals. They will live on the surface of the ocean for 2 years, to have access to more oxygen. They tend to reproduce from October to the end of Winter. This species is not able to lactate, because it is not a mammal. It is unknown what age they are most fertile. It is unclear at what age they stop having children, but no matter what they stay together for the rest of their lives.
The Distribution Of The Wolf Eel
Wolf Eels are found all around the Pacific Ocean, from Kodiak Island, Alaska, to Baja California, Mexico. They are also found much less prominently in the Sea Of Japan. They are usually found in colder, rockier waters, as these are best suited for the specific prey of the Wolf Eel. Populations of Wolf Eels tend to stay in the same area their entire lives, & not migrate often. They also tend to stay in areas with deeper ocean. They usually will not go deeper the 741 feet deep. At this time there are no subspecies of Wolf Eels.
The Scientific Detailings Of The Wolf Eel
The most interesting thing by far about the Wolf Eel is their crushing jawbone. Their jaws are lined will multiple rows of teeth that are mainly used to crack the shell of any clam or the exoskeleton of any crustacean. They have 3 rows of teeth on their upper jaw & 2 rows of teeth on their lower jaw. Their skeleton is not bone like most other fish, it is instead cartilaginous, meaning made of cartilage. Their spines are small, thin, & fragile, & connected to their compacted spinal cord, on average they have 239 spines. At their maximum length of 8.2 feet long, they have approximately 200 spinal vertebrae. Their phylum is Chordata meaning that they developed these 5 characteristics all species under the phylum of Chordata develop 5 similar characteristics either In adulthood or as juveniles. The characteristics that they develop include, a notochord, dorsal hollow nerve cord, endostyle or thyroid, pharyngeal Slits, & a post-anal tail. Additionally, all mammalian species are known to lactate. Their class is Actinopterygii, which means that they are ray-finned fish. This also means that their actinopterygian fin rays attach directly to the proximal or basal skeletal elements. Their order is Perciformes. This order contains approximately 41% of all bony fish, & encompasses approximately 10,000 species. It has species in the majority of marine ecosystems. The majority of the species in this order have ctenoid or comb-like scales, although occasionally they may be cycloid, or smooth. Their Family is Anarhichadidae. This is the group of Sea Wolves or Wolf-fishes. There are approximately 5 species in this Family. A defining characteristic of this family is having cycloid or smooth skin. Their genus is Anarrhichthys, which is monotypic. Their binomial name is Annarhichthys Ocellatus.
Directories / Credits
Citation No. 1: “Wolf Eel: The Eel That That’s Not An Eel”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown. Published by the Seattle Aquarium. Retrieval Date: July 19th, 2023.
Citation No. 2: “Face To Face With A Wolf Eel”, Written By Caitlin Grover, Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the British Broadcasting Company. Retrieval Date: July 19th, 2023.
Citation No. 3: “How Do Wolf Eels “Wolf” Down A Meal?!” Written By Alexandria Feltes, & Published on the 22nd of September, 2021. Published by the Birch Aquarium, Scripps Institution Of Oceanography, UC San Diego. Retrieval Date: July 19th, 2023.
Citation No. 4: “ Wolf-eel”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Retrieval Date: July 19th, 2023.
Citation No. 5: “Inside The World Of The Wolf Eel, The Grotesque Yet Friendly Sea Monster Of The North Pacific” Written By Marco Margaritoff, Edited by Erin Kelly, & Published on July 24th, 2021. Published by All That’s Interesting. Retrieval Date: July 19th, 2023.
Citation No. 6: “Annarhichthys Ocelltus Aryes, 1855.” Written By Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published By Fishbase. Retrieval Date: July 19th, 2023.
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