The white-ring garden eel (Heteroconger canabus), also known as the Cape garden eel in Mexico,[1] is an eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels).[2] It was described by Garry I. McTaggart-Cowan and Richard Heinrich Rosenblatt in 1974, originally under the genus Taenioconger.[3] It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Gulf of California, in the eastern central Pacific Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth of 20m (70feet), and inhabits sand sediments near reefs, where it forms burrows in nonmigratory colonies. Males can reach a maximum total length of 80cm (30inches).[2]
The white-ring garden eel's diet consists of zooplankton.[4] It is currently listed as Data Deficient at the IUCN redlist due to dispute over its taxonomy, although it notes that if valid, the species may be under threat as a result of inhabiting an intrareef region in a range restricted to 1,000 km2.[5]