They live along the Atlantic coastline from Venezuela to Greenland and Iceland. Eels can also be found in the Great Lakes and Mississippi River (Figure 1). Eels have a complex lifecycle that begins far offshore in the Sargasso Sea where adults spawn.

Do scientists know where eels come from?

Even if you cast out the infamous electric eel, the fish are incredibly odd because no one knows where they come from. These sea creatures lack reproductive organs of any kind. ... Scientists believe they know the lifecycle of the eel today, but people have believed to know the whole story before.

How do eels reproduce?

Cooke adds that the leading theory of eel reproduction is that they reproduce by external fertilization, in which clouds of sperm fertilize free-floating eggs. ... He described how males and females come into close proximity to one another, and release eggs and sperm.