denise
07-05-2009, 06:49 PM
Worldwide there are about 200 species of moray eels, and these are the most common type of eel (http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/showthread.php?t=440) around Florida. More than 15 types of morays live in Floridian waters, and 7 are commonly spotted by divers.
Morays lead a nocturnal, carnivorous lifestyle, aided by their large mouths and long sharp teeth. Morays have small eyes, instead they rely on their highly developed sense of smell as they lie in wait for prey to come along their way.
Moray eels' heads are too narrow to create a negative pressure that most fish use to swallow their prey. Moray eels have a second set of jaws in their throat called pharyngeal jaws, which also contain teeth. When they catch their prey, these jaws move upwards into the morays month, trap the struggling prey and help move it into the throat and then down into the digestive system. Moray eels are the only type of animal we know of that use their pharyngeal jaws to actively capture and restrain prey.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/greenmorayrob_1.jpg
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/greenmorayrob_2.jpg
These pictures, taken by Robert Palmer in West Palm Beach of a green moray, show just how large their mouths get!
When moray eels are resting they continuously open and close their mouths (this is often perceived by divers as a threat), but instead this simply assists the moray in ventilation, by pushing a continuous flow of water over their gills enabling them to extract oxygen out of the water.
Moray eels are very calm and peaceful when in their natural environment. However, they will defend themselves against threats, if they are disturbed or believe themselves or their habitat to be at risk. Moray eels have large mouths filled with razor sharp teeth, and they use these to defend themselves and inflict great pain on their victims. They can lock their jaws into their prey, and can cause severe damage. Many of the larger eels are also poisonous. Like any other living creatures, eels should not be provoked, fed by humans, or have humans interact with it in any way that interferes with its natural behavior.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/Green%20Moray.jpg
Green moray eel, Gymnothorax funebris, in crevice at Lantana Beach.
Green moray eels normally sleep by day, and feed at night. They feed mainly on fish, crabs, shrimp, octopus and squid. They are sit and wait predators, hiding patiently in the reef, until their prey comes close enough to lunge out and grab. They have a cool ability to tie their own body into knots to gain leverage for tearing up prey. Adult green morays have very few natural enemies, mainly groupers, other morays and barracudas.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/Greenmoray3.jpg
Close up of green moray eel
Green morays are the most common type of moray around Florida. As their name suggests, they appear green in color, however their skin is actually a dark blue! They are also covered with a slimy yellowish mucous (that provides protection against parasites and infection), and it is this combination makes them look green in color.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/morayeel.jpg
Green morays use their snakelike bodies to wriggle and find shelter in all types of small spaces. These solitary animals live among mangrove roots, along rocky shorelines and within coral reefs. As divers, we normally just see their heads jutting out of crevices during the day. If they do come out to swim around, they do this mainly at night.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/mnualeel.jpg
Diver and green moray, West Palm Beach.
Green morays are one of the largest types of morays, with a maximum recorded length of 8 feet and a weight of 65 pounds. On average they reach lengths of 6 feet and weights of 30lbs.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/SpottedMoray3.jpg
Spotted Moray, Gymnothorax moringa, Rivera Beach
Photo by Bob Rosell
Spotted morays occur from near the surface to to depths of more than 600 feet!
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/SpottedMoray.jpg
Spotted Moray, Gymnothorax moringa, emerging from hiding to view a diver. These are very shy, and hard to photograph fish.
Photo by Bob Rosell
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/spottedmoray456.jpg
The spotted moray is a benthic (bottom-dwelling) eel, common in shallow rocky, grassy and along coral reef areas. They are quite active at night, and swim out of their shelter places more often than other eels. During the day they tend to seek cover in hiding places in the coral reef.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/spottedmoray789.jpg
This spotted moray was photographed on Looe Key, moving from one crevice to another. They are medium sized eels, growing to three feet in length and weighing in at 10 pounds.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/spottedmoraytj.jpg
Spotted moray checking out a diver
http://www.dayo.com/fishid/SpottedEelnicole_11.jpg
Spotted moray in coral reef, Boynton Beach, Florida
Photo by Nicole LaPointe
Sometimes, other predators such as graysbys and coneys are spotted swimming with spotted eels, and shadowing their exact movements! It is thought that they scoop up by the small fish that are scared out of hiding by the movements of the bigger moray. The morays are not bothered by this attention and simply ignore the other fish.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/PurplemouthMoray.jpg
Purplemouth moray, Gymnothorax vicinus, Pompano Beach
Purplemouth morays live along rocky shores and reefs where there is clear water, and they are most active at night. The purplemouth moray can grow to four feet but averages between two to three feet in length.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/purplemoutheelrob_1.jpg
Close up of a purplemouth moray, showing brilliant yellow-gold eyes, and the purplish mouth linings, which easily distinguish purplemouths from other species eels.
Photo by Robert Palmer
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/GoldentailMoray.jpg
Goldentail Moray, Gymnothorax miliaris, Delray Ledge
Golden tails usually live in shallow to mid range coral reefs, and will feed out in the open during the day.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/gallery/files/1/1/7/8/goldentailmorayaracely_1.jpg
Goldentail Moray, Gymnothorax miliaris, West Palm Beach
Photo by Aracely Rojas
These beautiful colored eels have a yellow or gold colored tail, which can be hard to see as like other morays they often hide in recesses. They can also be distinguished by a ring of yellow around their pupils, and a brown body highlighted with numerous gold/yellow spots that vary in size depending on the age of the eel.
Morays lead a nocturnal, carnivorous lifestyle, aided by their large mouths and long sharp teeth. Morays have small eyes, instead they rely on their highly developed sense of smell as they lie in wait for prey to come along their way.
Moray eels' heads are too narrow to create a negative pressure that most fish use to swallow their prey. Moray eels have a second set of jaws in their throat called pharyngeal jaws, which also contain teeth. When they catch their prey, these jaws move upwards into the morays month, trap the struggling prey and help move it into the throat and then down into the digestive system. Moray eels are the only type of animal we know of that use their pharyngeal jaws to actively capture and restrain prey.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/greenmorayrob_1.jpg
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/greenmorayrob_2.jpg
These pictures, taken by Robert Palmer in West Palm Beach of a green moray, show just how large their mouths get!
When moray eels are resting they continuously open and close their mouths (this is often perceived by divers as a threat), but instead this simply assists the moray in ventilation, by pushing a continuous flow of water over their gills enabling them to extract oxygen out of the water.
Moray eels are very calm and peaceful when in their natural environment. However, they will defend themselves against threats, if they are disturbed or believe themselves or their habitat to be at risk. Moray eels have large mouths filled with razor sharp teeth, and they use these to defend themselves and inflict great pain on their victims. They can lock their jaws into their prey, and can cause severe damage. Many of the larger eels are also poisonous. Like any other living creatures, eels should not be provoked, fed by humans, or have humans interact with it in any way that interferes with its natural behavior.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/Green%20Moray.jpg
Green moray eel, Gymnothorax funebris, in crevice at Lantana Beach.
Green moray eels normally sleep by day, and feed at night. They feed mainly on fish, crabs, shrimp, octopus and squid. They are sit and wait predators, hiding patiently in the reef, until their prey comes close enough to lunge out and grab. They have a cool ability to tie their own body into knots to gain leverage for tearing up prey. Adult green morays have very few natural enemies, mainly groupers, other morays and barracudas.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/Greenmoray3.jpg
Close up of green moray eel
Green morays are the most common type of moray around Florida. As their name suggests, they appear green in color, however their skin is actually a dark blue! They are also covered with a slimy yellowish mucous (that provides protection against parasites and infection), and it is this combination makes them look green in color.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/morayeel.jpg
Green morays use their snakelike bodies to wriggle and find shelter in all types of small spaces. These solitary animals live among mangrove roots, along rocky shorelines and within coral reefs. As divers, we normally just see their heads jutting out of crevices during the day. If they do come out to swim around, they do this mainly at night.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/mnualeel.jpg
Diver and green moray, West Palm Beach.
Green morays are one of the largest types of morays, with a maximum recorded length of 8 feet and a weight of 65 pounds. On average they reach lengths of 6 feet and weights of 30lbs.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/SpottedMoray3.jpg
Spotted Moray, Gymnothorax moringa, Rivera Beach
Photo by Bob Rosell
Spotted morays occur from near the surface to to depths of more than 600 feet!
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/SpottedMoray.jpg
Spotted Moray, Gymnothorax moringa, emerging from hiding to view a diver. These are very shy, and hard to photograph fish.
Photo by Bob Rosell
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/spottedmoray456.jpg
The spotted moray is a benthic (bottom-dwelling) eel, common in shallow rocky, grassy and along coral reef areas. They are quite active at night, and swim out of their shelter places more often than other eels. During the day they tend to seek cover in hiding places in the coral reef.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/spottedmoray789.jpg
This spotted moray was photographed on Looe Key, moving from one crevice to another. They are medium sized eels, growing to three feet in length and weighing in at 10 pounds.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/spottedmoraytj.jpg
Spotted moray checking out a diver
http://www.dayo.com/fishid/SpottedEelnicole_11.jpg
Spotted moray in coral reef, Boynton Beach, Florida
Photo by Nicole LaPointe
Sometimes, other predators such as graysbys and coneys are spotted swimming with spotted eels, and shadowing their exact movements! It is thought that they scoop up by the small fish that are scared out of hiding by the movements of the bigger moray. The morays are not bothered by this attention and simply ignore the other fish.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/PurplemouthMoray.jpg
Purplemouth moray, Gymnothorax vicinus, Pompano Beach
Purplemouth morays live along rocky shores and reefs where there is clear water, and they are most active at night. The purplemouth moray can grow to four feet but averages between two to three feet in length.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/purplemoutheelrob_1.jpg
Close up of a purplemouth moray, showing brilliant yellow-gold eyes, and the purplish mouth linings, which easily distinguish purplemouths from other species eels.
Photo by Robert Palmer
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/GoldentailMoray.jpg
Goldentail Moray, Gymnothorax miliaris, Delray Ledge
Golden tails usually live in shallow to mid range coral reefs, and will feed out in the open during the day.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/gallery/files/1/1/7/8/goldentailmorayaracely_1.jpg
Goldentail Moray, Gymnothorax miliaris, West Palm Beach
Photo by Aracely Rojas
These beautiful colored eels have a yellow or gold colored tail, which can be hard to see as like other morays they often hide in recesses. They can also be distinguished by a ring of yellow around their pupils, and a brown body highlighted with numerous gold/yellow spots that vary in size depending on the age of the eel.