The slender giant moray or Gangetic moray, ''Strophidon sathete'', is the longest member of the family of

moray eel 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, and a few are ...

s. It is in the genus '' Strophidon''. The longest recorded specimen was caught in 1927, on the

Maroochy River The Maroochy River is a river in South East Queensland, Australia. The river rises from the eastern slopes of the Blackall Range and flows east through Eumundi, before entering the sea at Cotton Tree, Maroochydore. Other populated centres in ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

; it measured 3.94 metres. This species is characterized by an elongated body, as well as brownish-grey

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

coloration which pales towards the

venter Venter or Venters is an Afrikaans (and rarely, Jewish) surname, and may refer to: Venter * AJ Venter (b. 1973), South African rugby union footballer * Al J Venter, author * André Venter (b. 1970), South African rugby union footballer * Ben Venter ...

Distribution and habitat

The slender giant moray is found in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean from the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

and

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the histori ...

to the western

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. It generally lives in the

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

muddy environments of marine and estuarine areas, including inner bays and rivers.

Distribution and habitat

References

Notes

External links