Gymnothorax moringa
Spotted Moray
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Anguilliformes (True Eels)
Muraenidae (Morays)
Gymnothorax
Gymnothorax moringa (Spotted 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 and laterally compressed posteriorly; snout elongate, acute, and narrows sharply from bulbous nape; jaws elongate; anterior nostril tubular, posterior nostril round to tear-drop shaped and raised above and in front of eye; eye moderate in size and centered at midpoint of jaws; teeth smooth; upper jaw with row of 14 to 18 triangular, posteriorly directed teeth and short anterior inner series of 1 or 2 slender teeth (missing in large specimens); lower jaw with 15 to 24 triangular, posteriorly directed, uniserial teeth; intermaxillary teeth consist of row of 5 or 6 large teeth flanked by 0 to 7 fanglike teeth and 3 long, slender fangs along midline; vomerine teeth separated from intermaxillary teeth, uniserial, and number 5 to 11; gill openings slitlike and located at about midbody depth; head pores number four infraorbital, one supraorbital, six mandibular, and two branchial; snout 17% to 23%, eye 8% to 12%, and upper jaw 37% to 47% of head length; head length 13% to 15%, predorsal length 11% to 13%, preanal length 42% to 47%, depth at gill openings 4.9% to 9.1%, and depth at anus 4.9% to 8.8% of TL; total vertebrae number 134 to 142, predorsal vertebrae number 4 to 7, and preanal vertebrae number 50 to 57
Highly variable, usually pale dark green with pattern of dark overlapping spots; occasionally predominately pale with dark markings reduced or predominately dark with light areas reduced; often large specimens have row of round dark spots along body above midline; margins of fins pale in small and large pale specimens but dark in large dark specimens; anterior nostril pale, and head pores on lower jaw set in white spots
Distribution
Western Atlantic Ocean off South Carolina and from Bermuda to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
Habitat Associations
Near shore to 90 m and occasionally at 200 m
Biology
Maximum known size is 2,000 to 3,000 mm TL
Males mature between 575 and 940 mm TL, and females mature between 595 and 1,025 mm TL
A benthic and solitary species (Ref. 26340) abundant in shallow rocky and grassy areas and on coral reefs; less common in turbid bays or harbors. Its bite is very dangerous (Ref. 5217). Active during the day, sometimes together with other predators. Feeds on fish and crustaceans (Ref. 42064). Usually seen with its head protruding from a hole and the rest of its body concealed (Ref. 26938). Observed to be unusually aggressive towards man (Ref. 86997). It has been traded as aquarium fish at Ceará, Brazil (Ref. 49392). Marketed fresh and salted (Ref. 5217).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2011-08-18. Resilience: Low (Assuming tmax>10).
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: commercial.
References
Bohlke and Chaplin 1968
Hoese and Moore 1977
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
E. Bohlke et al. 1989
Smith 1989m
Boschung 1992
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Böhlke, J.E. (1978) Muraenidae. In W. Fischer (ed.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. West Atlantic (Fishing Area 31), Vol. 3, var. pag. FAO, Rome.
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.
Lieske, E. and R. Myers (1994) Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Haper Collins Publishers, 400 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.
Carvalho-Filho, A. (1999) Peixes: costa Brasileira. 3rd ed. Melro, São Paulo. 320 p.
Bernardes, R.Á., J.L. de Figueiredo, A.R. Rodrigues, L.G. Fischer, C.M. Vooren, M. Haimovici and C.L.D.B. Rossi-Wongtschowski (2005) Peixes de zona econômica exclusiva da região sudeste-sul do Brasil: Levantamento com armadilhas, pargueiras e rede de arrasto de fundo. São Paulo: Editora da Universidade de São Paulo. 295 p.
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