Leptocephalus (genus)

Leptocephalus is an obsolete genus that was used to classify larval eels, now called leptocephali. Leptocephali larvae differ so much in appearance from the adults that, when first discovered, they were thought to be a distinct type of fish, and not any type of eel. Because of this, the genus Leptocephalus was historically used to accommodate unidentified leptocephali. After their nature as eel larvae became known, it was recognized as a wastebasket taxon; the genus is not used in present classification systems.