CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Science & Nature

Hawaiian garden eel

species of fish

Specimen drawers, botanical folios and brass scientific instruments under study light
Science and natureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 29, 2026
Entity authorityQ3038511 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Hawaiian garden eel (Gorgasia hawaiiensis) is a species of eel in the family Congridae (conger/garden eels). It was described by John Ernest Randall and James Robert Chess in 1980. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Hawaiian archipelago (from which its species epithet is derived), in the eastern central Pacific Ocean. It is non-migratory, and is thought to be restricted to the region. It dwells at a depth range of 11 to 53 metres (36 to 174 ft), and leads a benthic life, forming burrows in sand. Males can reach a maximum standard length of 59.8 centimetres (23.5 in).

This eel appears during sunrise and returns to its burrow around sunset, making it a diurnal animal. Although burrows of this eel are more abundant in shallow water, larger burrows belonging to this eel can be found in deeper water.

The Hawaiian garden eel's diet consists of zoobenthos.

Editorial summary

“Hawaiian garden eel” enters the record as species of fish. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Hawaiian, garden and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1980—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Hawaiian, garden and species.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Hawaiian garden eel” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Hawaiian, garden and species provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3038511. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1980.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
Verify next

Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Hawaiian garden eel”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Hawaiian garden eel primary sources, Hawaiian garden eel archive and Hawaiian research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hawaiian garden eel”?
  2. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
  3. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Hawaiian garden eel” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.