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Moray eel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Superorder: Elopomorpha
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Muraenidae

Genera
See text.

Moray eels are large cosmopolitan eels of the family Muraenidae. There are approximately
200 species in 15 genera. The typical length of a moray is 1.5 m (5 ft), with the largest being
the slender giant moray, Strophidon sathete, at up to 4 m (13 ft).

Anatomy
Muraena helena showing typical moray eel morphology: robust anguilliform shape, lack of
pectoral fins and circular gill openings.

The dorsal fin of the moray extends from just behind the head, along the back and joins
seamlessly with the caudal and anal fins. Most species lack pectoral and pelvic fins, adding to
their snake-like appearance. Their eyes are rather small; morays rely on their highly
developed sense of smell, lying in wait to ambush prey.

The body of the moray is patterned, camouflage also being present inside the mouth. Their
jaws are wide, with a snout that protrudes forward. They possess large teeth, designed to tear
flesh as opposed to holding or chewing.

Moray eel jaw anatomy

Moray eels' heads are too narrow to create the negative pressure that most fish use to swallow
prey. Moray eels have a second set of jaws in their throat called pharyngeal jaws, which also
possess teeth. When feeding, morays launch these jaws into the oral cavity, where they grasp
struggling prey and transport it into the throat and down to the rest of the digestive system.
Moray eels are the only known type of animal that uses pharyngeal jaws to actively capture
and restrain prey.[2][3][4] Morays are capable of inflicting serious wounds to humans.

Morays secrete a protective mucus over their smooth scaleless skin which contains a toxin in
some species. Morays have much thicker skin and high densities of goblet cells in the
epidermis that allows mucus to be produced at a higher rate than in other eel species. This
allows sand granules to adhere to the sides of their burrows in sand-dwelling morays[5], thus
making the walls of the burrow more permanent due to the glycosylation of mucins in mucus.
Their small circular gills, located on the flanks far posterior to the mouth, require the moray
to maintain a gape in order to facilitate respiration.

Morays are carnivorous and feed primarily on other fish, cephalopods, mollusks, and
crustaceans. Groupers, other morays, and barracudas are among their few predators. There is
a commercial fishery for several species, but some have been known to cause ciguatera fish
poisoning. Morays hide in crevices in the reefs, and wait until their prey is close enough for
capture. They then lunge out and clamp the prey in their strong jaws.

Moray eels can sometimes have patterns on their skin.


Behavior
Cooperative hunting

A Pacific cleaner shrimp cleans the mouth of a moray eel

Ribbon moray,
Rhinomuraena quaesita

In the December 2006 issue of the journal Public Library of Science Biology, a team of
biologists announced the discovery of interspecies cooperative hunting involving morays.
The biologists, who were engaged in a study of Red Sea cleaner fish (fish that enter the
mouths of other fish to rid them of parasites), discovered that a species of reef-associated
grouper, the roving coral grouper (Plectropomus pessuliferus), often recruited morays to aid
them while hunting for food. This is the first discovery of cooperation between fish in
general. [6] [7]

Fimbriated moray,
Gymnothorax fimbriatus

Reputation
Morays have sometimes been described as vicious or ill-tempered. In fact, morays are shy
and secretive, and they only attack humans in self-defense. They also accidentally bite human
fingers when being fed, because they cannot see or hear very well, although they have an
acute sense of smell. Morays hide from humans and would rather flee than fight. Morays,
however, do inflict a nasty bite, because, although not poisonous, their backward-pointing
teeth are covered with bacteria which may infect the wound. Another danger that morays
present is when they are eaten. If the eels have eaten certain types of toxic algae, or fish that
have eaten some of these algae, they can cause ciguatera fish poisoning if eaten. Morays rest
in crevices during the day and are nocturnal predators, and although they may ensnare small
fish and crustaceans that pass near them during the day, they mostly come out at night. [7]

Distribution
Moray eels are cosmopolitan, found in tropical and temperate seas.

Habitat
Morays usually live in warm waters, and subtropical coral reefs to depths of 150 m, where
they spend most of their time concealed inside crevices and alcoves.

Classification
Genera

Whitemouth moray, Gymnothorax meleagris

• Anarchias
• Channomuraena
• Cirrimaxilla
• Echidna
• Enchelycore
• Enchelynassa
• Gymnomuraena
• Gymnothorax
• Monopenchelys
• Muraena
• Pseudechidna
• Rhinomuraena
• Scuticaria
• Uropterygius

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