June 18, 2020, by Kristina Tirman

Do you recognize the intertidal creature in this photo??

If you instantly shouted, “It’s an eel!”, you would not be alone.  Many people who explore the intertidal zone believe that this Crescent Gunnel is an eel.  Eels are fish and so are gunnels along with their close relatives, the pricklebacks.  They all belong to the Class Osteichthyes, the bony fish.  However, they do not belong to the same order of fish.

Download the Science Bite below to learn more about the differences between gunnels and eels so the next time you’re in the intertidal zone, you won’t be mistaken!