#protanguillidae

[the-mists-of-time]

[muraenidae]

Protanguilla palau is the only member of the family Protanguillidae. These small eels share a number of features that were only known from fossils prior to its discovery in 2011. It's thought to have split from the other living eels around the early Triassic, although the first fossil eels are only known from the early Cretaceous - 100 million years after this hypothesized divergence. Because it looks so much like some fossil animals, it's tempting to think of Protanguilla as primitive, but just like the coelacanth, tuatara, and other 'living fossils,' it's important to remember that this animal is probably highly derived compared to the ancestor of all eels.