Giant moray
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| Giant moray | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Muraenidae |
| Genus: | Gymnothorax |
| Species: | G. javanicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Gymnothorax javanicus (Bleeker, 1859) |
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The giant moray is the largest of the Moray eels,[1] in terms of body mass (the slender giant moray is longer).
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[edit] Range
The giant moray is widespread in the Indo-Pacific region, being found in the Red Sea and East Africa, the Pitcairn group, north to the Ryukyu and Hawaiian islands, south to New Caledonia, Fiji and the Austral Islands.
[edit] Description
As the name suggests, this is a large eel, reaching up to 300 cm (10.0 ft) in length and 30 kg (66.1 lbs) in weight. While juveniles are tan in colour with large black spots, adults have black specks that grade into leopard-like spots behind the head and a black area surrounding the gill opening.[2]
[edit] Diet
Primarily crustaceans.[1]
[edit] Habitat
Found in lagoons and seaward reefs.
[edit] Hazards
This species may be hazardous to people in two ways:
- Being at the top of the food chain it is likely to cause ciguatera poisoning if eaten.[1][2]
- It has been implicated in provoked and unprovoked attacks on scuba divers.[1][2][3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Lieske, E. and Myers, R.F. (2004) Coral reef guide; Red Sea London, HarperCollins ISBN 0-00-715986-2
- ^ a b c Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Gymnothorax javanicus" in FishBase. 5 2006 version.
- ^ Siliotti, A. (2002) fishes of the red sea Verona, Geodia ISBN 88-87177-42-2
[edit] External links
- [1] Moray Eel Database
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