Taxonomy and Evolution
The Asian swamp eel is a freshwater eel-like fish belonging to the family Synbranchidae. This family is native to the fresh, brackish, tropical, and subtropical waters of Asia, but is now present in West Africa and North, Central and South America. Its taxonomy, however, is incorrect. Though Monopterus albus was initially thought to be a single species, four known populations of the “species” in the southeastern United States may actually be three distinct species or taxa, each originating from a different area in Asia. Monopterus albus comes from the class or subclass Actinopterygii. It arose from the Osteichthyes, the first bony fish, whose fossil record dates back to the Triassic period. In turn, the bony fish came from the Acanthodii class of bony and cartilaginous fish. The common name of M. albus is somewhat of a misnomer, as the Asian swamp eel is not an eel, per se. Eels are of the order Anguilliformes, while M. albus is of the order Synbranchiformes.
Read more about this topic: Monopterus Albus
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