moray eel
Moray eels, or Muraenidae (), are a family (biology), family of eels whose members are found worldwide. There are approximately 200 species in 15 genera which are almost exclusively Marine (ocean), marine, but several species are regu ...
s in the family
Muraenidae
Moray eels, or Muraenidae (), are a family of eels whose members are found worldwide. There are approximately 200 species in 15 genera which are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water, ...
. Species in this genus currently do not form a
monophyletic
In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria:
# the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
group.
Description
''Echidna'' species lack canine teeth.
Diet
They generally eat crustaceans.
Species
,
FishBase
FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.
and
WoRMS
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms.
Content
The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...
recognize the following eleven species in ''Echidna'':
* ''
Echidna amblyodon
''Echidna amblyodon'', the Sulawesi morayBleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Echidna catenata'' (
Bloch
Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include:
A
*Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), Austrian entrepreneur
*Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter
*Alexandre Bloch (1857–1919), French painter
*Alfred Bloch ( ...
Echidna nebulosa
The snowflake moray (''Echidna nebulosa''), also known as the clouded moray among many vernacular names, is a species of marine eel of the family Muraenidae. It has blunt teeth ideal for its diet of crustaceans, a trait it shares with the zebra m ...
Echidna nocturna
''Echidna nocturna'' is a moray eel found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, in the Gulf of California and around Peru and the Galapagos Islands.Cope
A cope ( ("rain coat") or ("cape")) is a liturgical long mantle or cloak, open at the front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour.
A cope may be worn by any rank of the Catholic or Anglican clerg ...
, 1872) (freckled moray)
* ''
Echidna peli
''Echidna peli'' is a moray eel found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.''Echidna peli'' a ...
'' (Kaup, 1856) (pebbletooth moray)
* ''
Echidna polyzona
The barred moray (''Echidna polyzona''), also known as the banded moray, the dark-banded eel, the girdled moray, the girdled reef eel, the many banded moray eel, the ringed moray, the ringed reef moray, the striped moray and the zebra eel,) is a ...
Echidna rhodochilus
''Echidna rhodochilus'' is a moray eel found in the Pacific and Indian oceans, around India and the Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia ...
'' Bleeker, 1863 (pink-lipped moray eel)
* ''
Echidna unicolor
''Echidna unicolor'' is a moray eel found in coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's ...
'' L. P. Schultz, 1953 (unicolor moray)
* ''
Echidna xanthospilos
''Echidna xanthospilos'' is a moray eel found in the western central Pacific Ocean, around Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It was first named by Pieter Bleeker
Pieter Bleeker (10 July 1819 – 24 January 1878) was a Dutch medical doctor, Ichth ...
'' (Bleeker, 1859) (New Guinea moray)
In addition to the species listed above, the
zebra moray
The zebra moray (''Gymnomuraena zebra'') is a species of marine fish in the family Muraenidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Gymnomuraena'', though it sometimes has been included in ''Echidna'' instead.
Description
The zebra moray is co ...
(''Gymnomuraena zebra'') has sometimes been included in ''Echidna''.