Barred moray

Barred moray
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Anguilliformes
Family:	Muraenidae
Genus:	Echidna
Species:	E. polyzona
Binomial name
Echidna polyzona (Richardson, 1845)

The barred moray, Echidna polyzona, is a moray eel of the family Muraenidae, found in the Indo-Pacific oceans from the Red Sea and East Africa to the Hawaiian, Marquesas, and Tuamotus islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to the Great Barrier Reef, at depths down to 10 m. Its length is up to 70 cm.

The barred moray inhabits reef flats, clear shallow lagoons, and seaward reefs, feeding mainly on small crustaceans during both day and night.

Coloration is grey on the body with fine pale barring. The young have 25 to 30 dark brown bars separated by white narrow interspaces - the bars become obscure with age, where, in large adults, the pattern becomes mottled brown. The corner of the mouth is dark brown, and the head is usually lighter, yellowish with variable dark blotching.

References

• Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2006). "Echidna polyzona" in FishBase. June 2006 version.