The subfamily Heterocongrinae consists of the fishes commonly known as garden eels, a distinctive group within the eel family Congridae. Members of this subfamily are slender, elongate eels that live permanently burrowed in sandy bottoms, with only the upper portion of their bodies extending into the water column. They occur in tropical and subtropical marine environments, often forming dense colonies that resemble a “garden” of swaying stems as the eels orient themselves into the current. Garden eels feed on zooplankton drifting past, quickly retreating tail-first into their burrows when threatened. Their cryptic lifestyle, reduced fins, and specialized burrowing behavior make Heterocongrinae one of the most visually distinctive and behaviorally specialized groups of reef-associated fishes.