---
title: "European Eel"
description: "Anguilla anguilla — Pesci. The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a species of eel."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/european-eel
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# European Eel

> Anguilla anguilla — Pesci. The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a species of eel.

- Scientific name: *Anguilla anguilla*
- Category: `fish` (Pesci)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Laghi e fiumi)
- iNaturalist observations: 3512
- Wikidata: [Q26387](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q26387)
- iNaturalist taxon: [94105](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/94105)

## Names

- en: European Eel
- de: Europäischer Aal
- es: Anguila Europea
- fr: Anguille d'Europe
- nl: Paling
- pl: Węgorz europejski

## Countries with the most observations

GB (603), FR (585), PT (284), ES (261), IT (237), DE (200), DK (142), NL (117), GR (73), BE (56), CZ (53), IE (51)

## Summary

The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a species of eel. Their life history was a mystery for thousands of years, and mating in the wild has not yet been observed. The five stages of their development were originally thought to be different species. They are critically endangered due to hydroelectric dams, overfishing by fisheries on coasts for human consumption, and parasites.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_eel

## Photo

![European Eel](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/european-eel/medium.jpg)

Photo: Olly Morgan · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/90244265

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/european-eel?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).