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Meet the Moray Eel: 7 Facts You Need to Know

Meet the Moray Eel: 7 Facts You Need to Know

Written by Nevin
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Published on July 18, 2009
two moray eels in coral

Moray eels are the world’s most cosmopolitan eel, found in nearly every ocean on Earth. Despite their rather vicious appearance, moray eels are quite docile and generally pose no threat to humans — unless, of course, they feel threatened. The largest of the moray eels, the giant moray, is capable of severing human fingers if it catches a bite, so hand-feeding is not a wise course of action here. It prefers to hang out in small crevices, passively waiting for a meal to happen by. However, at an appropriate distance, the moray will generally stand its ground calmly, gaping at you in its characteristic way.

Almost each and every diver has chanced upon this toothy character of the deep at some point or another. You may unintentionally encounter the moray’s alien-like jaws inches away from you while passing over some innocent looking corral.

moray eel full length
Image via Shutterstock

Facts About the Moray Eel

It’s has many teeth

The moray eels gaping jaws and sharp teeth are the first thing that grabs your attention. They possess sharp backward pointing teeth designed for tearing flesh, and a second set of jaws inside their throats, also armed with teeth, meant for capturing or restraining their prey.

It hides in crevices

What also makes the moray seem more intimidating is the fact that we never see the entire length of the eel as it lays hidden in a crevice with only its head sticking out. This creates the doubt in the diver’s mind, as to how long it really is, and the fear of it possibly springing out to attack.

It’s nearly the size of a grown adult

Typically moray eels are around 1.5 meters (5 ft) long (almost the size of a person). But some moray species grow up to 4 meters (13ft) long, i.e. twice the size of an adult human male.

two moray eels in coral
Image via Shutterstock

It attacks in self defense

Morays seldom deliberately attack divers; they are secretive and shy creatures that would rather avoid humans and swim for cover than confront one. Most instances of moray related attacks have almost always been in self-defense, when a diver unwittingly grabs on to a rocky outcrop that happens to be the home of a moray eel or if a diver has been trying to feed the moray.

Smell is its primary sense

Moray eels have poor vision and poor hearing, so they rely heavily on smell to locate prey which mainly consists of small fish and crustaceans.  They are often found amongst coral reefs and lurking in crevices at the sea floor. It’s very rare to see one swimming free from one crevice to another during the day, as they are predominantly nocturnal creatures.

It comes in many varieties and colors

The other intimidating and fascinating feature of the moray is the sheer varieties color you see them in. There are over 200 species of the moray eel, and they range in several different colors, some subdued and camouflaged, others bright and showy making them one of the most recognizable creatures on the reef.

yellow moray eel
Image via Shutterstock

It practices cooperative hunting

The moray is the only known marine species that engages in cooperative hunting with another species. Coral groupers enlist the services of moray eels to swim through narrow openings of coral reefs to flush out food sources the grouper wouldn’t be able to access on its own. Ironically, the grouper is one of only a handful of the moray eel’s predators.

Conclusion

Despite its menacing qualities, the moray eel is a truly fascinating creature which is often misunderstood and unjustly reputed as a dangerous creature. Having said that; I still dive rather carefully whenever I catch sight of a moray, and will often still try and circumvent its ill-tempered glare and admire its beauty from afar.