Joydeep Sarkar
Joydeep Sarkar
( Gymnothorax enigmaticus )
Found in shallow coral reefs, mostly during the night at a depth range of 0-10 m.
They are cream in colour with approximately 20 brown bands that go around the head, body and fins. Their first brown band goes over the snout and ends behind the eye. During the day, they hide in the rocks and they don't usually go hunt for their prey. They wait for their prey to cross their crevice or hole that they reside in.
They feed on small fish and crustaceans.
Joydeep Sarkar
( Gymnothorax fimbriatus )
Resides in areas around the reef that are protected like the outer slopes, lagoons and harbors. During the day, they are seen in crevices with their head poking out at depths of 1-50m.
Growing to a maximum length of 80 cm and resembling the body of a snake, they have a body that is colured cream to brown colour and is dotted with black spots. Their head is a more greensish colour with black spots as well, the corners of their mouth are white. The spots on the body are quite irregular and do not follow any specific pattern or shape.
They leave their lair or crevice in the night to come out and feed on small fish and crustaceans.
Joydeep Sarkar
Joydeep Sarkar
( Gymnothorax javanicus )
Inhabit lagoons and outer reef slopes of coral reefs, mostly active during the night. During the day, they are observed to be resting in crevices or holes in the reef or rock between the depth of 1-50 m.
A large eel as the name suggests, they can grow up to about 3 m in length. They have an elongated body which is brownish in colour with black spots on the body, these spots sort of resemble that of leopards behind the head. They are known to have very bad eye sight and hence, hunt mainly using their sense of smell. Another interesting feature is that you will usually find cleaner wrasse in their mouth, cleaning through its teeth.
They are known to feed on small fish and crustaceans.
Vardhan Patankar
( Gymnothorax breedeni )
You can find them in crevices and holes along seaward reefs, they are known to prefer areas or spaces where there are rubble or dead coral where it calls home. Their depth range is between 4-40 m.
Recorded to reach a maximum length of about 100 cm, these species are brown in colour and are covered with in irregular darker spots. They stand out of the other morays because of their irregular black patch mark on their face, which seems to start from their eye and end behind the mouth resembling that of a mask and hence, giving them a common name. This species is known to be extremely territorial and live in association with cleaner shrimps and anthias.
Coming out of its crevice or lair in the night, they prefer feeding on octopus and smaller fish.
Joydeep Sarkar
( Gymnothorax undulatus )
Found within reefs, they reside between the depths of 1-50 m. You are likely to also find them in lagoons and seaward reefs.
They have a greenish-yellow coloured head coupled with a wavy pattern of brownish blotches or spots. They are known to be quite aggresive and may attack or bite if threatened. They can grow up to a maximum length of 1.5 m. Like most eels, they too lack a few fins in order for them to be able to fit into crevies and holes in the reef or rubble. Eels, have also evolved thicker skin in areas so that they can be protected from the sharp rubble or coral in which they reside.
Feed in the night on octopus, fish and crustaceans.
Joydeep Sarkar
( Gymnothorax flavimarginatus )
They are found in coral or rocky areas of reefs and where the reef is protected from too much action of current. They have been recorded to be found in areas as deep as 150 m.
Growing up to a maximum length of around 240 cm, the yellow-edged moray is named so because of its dull yellow colour which is overlapped by a pattern of dark brown or black covering its whole body. The head on the other hand is a dark purple colour with a greyish hint. Coming out mainly in the night, you are likely to see their head protruding out of a reef crevice where they are commonly spotted with the presence of cleaner shrimp.
They feed on octopus, squid and small crustaceans.
Phalguni Ranjan
( Myrichthys colubrinus )
They are a burrowing species and hence can be found in sandy areas in and around coral reefs in inshore waters. Commonly spotted around lagoons and reef flats at a maximum depth of 30 m.
They have a thin body which is white in colour with between 25-32 black bands throughout the whole body. This is a form of mimicry as its colouration resembles that of a venomous species of sea snake (the yellow lipped sea krait), this has evolved as a way to keep potential predators of the snake eel away. However, snake eels are completely harmless.
They are known to feed on small fishes and crustaceans.
Joydeep Sarkar
( Echidna nebulosa )
Spotted along seagrass beds, rocky reefs, intertidal areas and areas with a lot of rubble.
This species of moray have a body that is speckled with a yellow, brown and black striped pattern. On their face, there are two yellow nostrils and two more similar yellow structures closer to their eyes. The snowflake moray can reach up to a maximum size of 100 cm but most individuals are found to be around 50 cm. An engrossing feature of these species is their ability to secrete a fluid around their whole body that allows them to maneuver through crevices and holes where the reside.
Their diets mainly consist of crustaceans which they feed on when they come out of their crevice or hole in the night.
Joydeep Sarkar
( Rhinomuraena quaesita )
You are likely to spot them at a depth of about 60 m peeping out from crevices and ledges in sand and rubble areas around coral reefs.
They have a long and thin body and can be identified by their extended nostrils and almost always have their jaw open wide when approached closely. When young, these species is a black colour like the specimen displayed in the photo here, with yellow on the fins located on the top of their body. When they become adults, the body changes from black to blue for the males while the females display a complete yellow in colour. They can reach a maximum length of about 120 cm.
They mainly feed on small fish and shrimp.
Phalguni Ranjan
Vardhan Patankar
( Gymnothorax favagineus )
Spotted in the outer slopes of coral reefs under crevices and holes at depths between 1-50 m.
Deeming themselves as one of the largest moray eels, these species can grow up to a maximum length of about 300 cm. With a body shape similar to the rest of the morays, they have a body which is whitish or sometimes yellow which is covered with several black sots which vary in size and shape, this intern creates a pattern resembling that of a honey comb and giving them their name.
They come out in the night to feeed on small fish, squid and crustaceans.
Joydeep Sarkar
( Gorgasia maculata )
You can find them between the depths of 25-48 m in sandy areas near coral reefs where it forms burrows and colonies.
They are pale greyish in colour with several small close-packed brown spots and distinct white spots or blotches. This species also has a white blotch on the head, they can reach the maximum length of about 70 cm but only have a diameter of about 10 mm. They do not move out of their burrows as much and tend to dwell around their whole with the rest of their colony.
They feed on various planktonic organisms that come in the vicinity of their burrows or colony.