Macrotrema Ophisternon Synbranchus Monopterus Rakthamichthys Typhlosynbranchus The swamp eels (also written "swamp-eels") are a family (Synbranchidae) of freshwater eel-like fishes of the tropics and subtropics.

[4] Most species are able to breathe air and typically live in marshes, ponds and damp places, sometimes burying themselves in the mud if the water source dries up.

In the Jiangnan region of China, swamp eels are eaten as a delicacy, usually cooked as part of a stir-fry or casserole.

[5] Most of the species can breathe air, allowing them to survive in low-oxygenated water, and to migrate overland between ponds on wet nights.

Although swamp eels are not themselves related to amphibians, this lifestyle may well resemble those of the fish from which the land animals evolved during the Devonian period.

This typically occurs around four years of age, although a small number of individuals are born male and remain so throughout their lives.

The recipe usually calls for garlic, scallions, bamboo shoots, rice wine, sugar, starch, and soy sauce with prodigious amounts of vegetable oil.

[8] On the other side of the endangerment issue, invasive swamp eels in Florida are a major threat to populations of crayfish and some other small species.