Gymnothorax funebris
Green Moray
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Anguilliformes (True Eels)
Muraenidae (Morays)
Gymnothorax
Gymnothorax funebris (Green Moray)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Moderately elongate, moderately stout, and laterally compressed posteriorly. Snout is elongate, acute, and narrows sharply from bulbous nape. Jaws are elongate. Anterior nostril is tubular, and posterior nostril is porelike, raised in adults and teardrop shaped in largest specimens. Eye is moderate in size and centered at midpoint of jaws. Teeth are smooth. Upper jaw has row of 10 to 18 triangular, posteriorly directed teeth and short anterior inner series of 1 to 3 long, slender teeth. Lower jaw has 1 to 4 long, slender teeth followed by series of 11 to 20 triangular, posteriorly directed teeth. Intermaxillary teeth consist of row of 5 or 6 large, stout teeth flanked by 0 to 6 small teeth continuous with upper jaw teeth. Vomerine teeth are separated from intermaxillary teeth and are small, conical, and biserial anteriorly and uniserial posteriorly. Gill openings are slitlike and are located at about mid-depth of body. Head pores are developed and number four infraorbital, three supraorbital, six mandibular, and two branchial. Snout is 14% to 20%, eye is 6% to 11%, and upper jaw is 33% to 44% of head length. Head length is 13% to 16%, predorsal length is 10% to 12%, preanal length is 43% to 49%, depth at gill openings is 4.4% to 10%, and depth at anus is 4.5% to 8% of TL. Total vertebrae number 137 to 142, predorsal vertebrae number 4 to 7, and preanal vertebrae number 57 to 61.
Color is uniform dark green to brown. Dorsal, anal, and caudal fins are dusky to pale. Head pores, gill openings, and anus may be darker than remainder of body.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Florida Keys, the western Gulf of Mexico
Western Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Rocky tide pools, shallow coral reefs, occasionally in brackish water and mangrove areas
Biology
Maximum known size is 1,890 mm TL
A benthic and solitary species (Ref. 26340) occurring along rocky shorelines, reefs, and mangroves (Ref. 3255).Usually found shallower than 30 m (Ref. 26938). Due to its large size and aggressiveness, the bites of this moray are particularly dangerous (Ref. 3255). Feeds mainly at night on fish and crustaceans (Ref. 42064). Marketed fresh and salted (Ref. 3255). Large individuals are ciguatoxic (Ref. 3255).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Spawning migrations and leptocephalus larvae (ref. 42064).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-08-17. Resilience: Very low (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: public aquariums.
References
Bohlke and Chaplin 1968
Castro-Aguirre and Marquez-Espinoza 1981
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
E. Bohlke et al. 1989
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Feitoza, B.M., L.A. Rocha, O.J. Luiz-Júnior, S.R. Floeter and J.L. Gasparini (2003) Reef fishes of St. Paul's Rocks: new records and notes on biology and zoogeography. aqua, J. Ichthyol. Aquat. Biol. 7(2):61-82.
Comments On Gymnothorax funebris