That's a moray!

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R

Russy Pelican

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 23, 2006
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Asheville, NC
But what kind?

So I picked up an eel about a month ago. I purchased it as a zebra moray (Gymnomuraena zebra):
atloqp.jpg
which is a species I've kept for twenty years.

But the animal pictured below is a different species. The head is more elongate and there is a high dorsal fin, on the typical zebra there is no dorsal at all. Also, zebras have molar-like teeth for crushing mollusks; this eel has very sharp long teeth like a picovore.


dmzct0.jpg


If anyone knows what that is, I'd sure like too know. It doesn't appear in Burgess' Atlas or any websites I've found. E. Polyzona was leading the pack for color pattern, but the headshape is more typical of Gymnothorax.
 
Just a guess but how about a young Gymnothorax rueppellii? I understand that the black band across the head fades out as they get older then the head turns yellow.
 
i would have to second that id given by guppy
 
looks like a type of snake eel. We caught a "magnificent snake eel" a while back and that thing was very active. Sadly though it managed to jump out of the bucket in the truck bed going home and died.
 
It's definitely not a snake eel. The pattern is close, but the head shape is entirely inconsistent. They have a very different shaped head than a moray:
2zg9ff7.jpg

And are much slighter of build.
Here's another picture showing the whole body. And notice the high dorsal...
10rv7gp.jpg


looking for juvie pics of ruppellii...
 
Yeah, there is a serious change as they age
 
I would go with Echidna polyzona. Reef Fishes Vol. 1 by Scott Michael describes the banded moray as having 25-30 bars, while the the tiger moray Gymnothorax enigmaticus and yellowhead G. rueppelliae have 17-21 and 16-21 bars, respectively. I count 25 bars on the eel in your picture. Your eel is a beautiful specimen. A lfs here had a banded moray last year.
 
spotfin;1210667; said:
I would go with Echidna polyzona. Reef Fishes Vol. 1 by Scott Michael describes the banded moray as having 25-30 bars, while the the tiger moray Gymnothorax enigmaticus and yellowhead G. rueppelliae have 17-21 and 16-21 bars, respectively. I count 25 bars on the eel in your picture. Your eel is a beautiful specimen. A lfs here had a banded moray last year.
Click to expand...


I think you might be right, I found a pic on animal-world.com that is a very close match.
 
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