# Can anyone identify this fish/eel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 21, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-fish-eel/557911 "2010-10-21T18:39:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-fish-eel/557911/1 "2010-10-21T18:39:08Z")
> **[ImageShack - Best place for all of your image hosting and image sharing needs](https://imageshack.com)** > > Unlimited space to host images, easy to use image uploader, albums, photo hosting, sharing, dynamic image resizing on web and mobile. About 5 inches long, tan brown with white-rimmed black spots at regular intervals along its length. Slender and eel-like. Not especially slimy. Tapered, pointy face/mouth. Found under a rock in the intertidal zone in a sea loch on the northwest coast of Scotland. ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-fish-eel/557911/2 "2010-10-22T00:52:28Z")
Eels _are_ fish That looks like a [Butterfish](http://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/species.asp?item=ZG6800) _(pholis gunnellus)_ [Another picture of one](http://www.glaucus.org.uk/gunnel.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-fish-eel/557911/3 "2010-10-22T01:22:14Z")
> [@mutantmoose](#): > > Eels _are_ fish > > That looks like a [Butterfish](http://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/species.asp?item=ZG6800) _(pholis gunnellus)_ Looks like it. And urgh. I did my icthyology class project on [gunnels](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunnel_(fish)) way back in the day. Disastrous failure. I’ve hated the cute little bastards ever since ;). ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-fish-eel/557911/4 "2010-10-22T10:13:04Z")
It’s a baby Nessie!!! ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-fish-eel/557911/5 "2010-10-22T11:15:08Z")
If that’s anything like Hawaiian butterfish it is quite nearly the most delicious food known to mankind. Unfortunately also partially undigestible. And while it won’t make you sick, exactly, there are oils which will, er, leak out of their own accord. . . ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-fish-eel/557911/6 "2010-10-22T13:08:12Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > If that’s anything like Hawaiian butterfish I don’t think it is even [distantly related](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escolar). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-identify-this-fish-eel/557911/7 "2010-10-22T21:32:43Z")
> [@mutantmoose](#): > > Eels _are_ fish I know, but not all fish are eels, even some that looks like eels - the purpose of writing the title that way was actually intended to try to forestall terminology nitpicks. 🙂 > [@](#): > > [That looks like a [Butterfish](http://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/species.asp?item=ZG6800) _(pholis gunnellus)_ > > [Another picture of one](http://www.glaucus.org.uk/gunnel.htm) That looks spot on, thanks.