Distribution and early life-history characteristics of anguillid leptocephali in the western South Pacific

Abstract. Freshwater eels are important fisheries species in parts of the western South Pacific, but little is known about their oceanic early life history or spawning areas. The age, growth, morphology and geographic distribution of five species of genetically identified anguillid leptocephali collected in 1995, 2000 and 2005 were compared. The sizes and ages of th