The Mediterranean moray (''Muraena helena'') is a species of fish in the

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 ...

family. It has a long eel-like body and is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

Sea. Its bite can be dangerous to humans.

Appearance and characteristics

The Mediterranean moray has an elongated, eel-like body and can reach a length of and weigh over 15 kilograms. Its coloration varies from dark grey to dark brown with fine dark spots. The skin is slimy and without scales. The dorsal fin begins behind its head and continues to the caudal fin (fused with the anal fin). Pectoral fins are absent, teeth are long and sharp-pointed (like other morays), and the mouth is long and robust and reaches behind the

gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

s. File:Muraena helena.2 - Aquarium Finisterrae edit.JPG, ''

Muraena helena The Mediterranean moray (''Muraena helena'') is a species of fish in the moray eel family. It has a long eel-like body and is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Its bite can be dangerous to humans. Appearance and characte ...

'' showing typical moray eel morphology: robust anguilliform shape, lack of

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

s and circular

openings, alt=Photo of undulating moray on top of a coral colony File:Muraena, Funchal Markthalle IMG 1718.JPG, Captured morays on fish market in Madeira

Ecology

The Mediterranean moray inhabits the coastal waters of the eastern

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

Ocean from the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

to the coast of

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

; the waters of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

and the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

; and the

Sea. It prefers rocky bottoms and lives at depths between 1 and 801 metres with the 100–300 m range the most common habitat. It is a solitary and

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

species. The Mediterranean moray spends most of the day in cavities and clefts between rocks and is more active at night. It hunts fish, crabs and

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...

s, but also feeds on dead animals. The Mediterranean moray's reproduction is not well known. They spawn about 60,000 eggs into open water, from which planktonic transparent leptocephali hatch. One parasitic

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

, the

trematode Trematoda is a Class (biology), class of flatworms known as trematodes, and commonly as flukes. They are obligate parasite, obligate Endoparasites, internal parasites with a complex biological life cycle, life cycle requiring at least two Host ( ...

'' Folliculovarium mediterraneum'' and the

flatworm Platyhelminthes (from the Greek language, Greek πλατύ, ''platy'', meaning "flat" and ἕλμινς (root: ἑλμινθ-), ''helminth-'', meaning "worm") is a Phylum (biology), phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, Segmentation (biology), ...

'' Lecithochirium grandiporum'' are parasites of the Mediterranean moray.

Human importance

The bite of the Mediterranean moray can be dangerous mainly due to the mildly toxic slime of its skin. It can be utilized fresh and eaten broiled, boiled and baked. The skin can be used for leather.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mediterranean Moray Muraena Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish of the Mediterranean Sea Fish described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus