The American Eel is found across much of eastern North America from Newfoundland to Texas and south to South America. While they live in streams and rivers for most of their lives, they migrate as adults into the Atlantic Ocean where they spawn and die. Larvae are moved by ocean currents back to shoreline habitats where they migrate back up into rivers. American Eels have a snake-like body with a long dorsal fin and can be distinguished from lampreys by their jaws.