Yellow-edged moray

Background

The yellow-edged moray is a long, slender fish with a bulbous head, rounded snout, and gradually tapering tail. Its large mouth contains a single row of small pointed teeth in the lower jaw and several vomerine teeth on the roof of the mouth. The dorsal fin extends continuously from just behind the head along the back to round the tail, where it continues as the caudal and anal fins. It can grow to a maximum length of about 240 cm, though a more typical length is 80 cm.

The body is basically dull yellow with a mottled pattern of dark brown or black covering most of the surface. The head is purplish-grey with a large black blotch at the operculum, and the margins of the fins on the posterior part of the body are yellowish or greenish.

Young fish may have a brighter yellow background color with brown blotches. This moray occurs in the tropical Indo-Pacific region, inhabiting coral or rocky areas of reef flats and the protected sides of seaward reefs, down to about 150 m. It is usually solitary, hiding in a crevice or submerged in sediment with just its head protruding, and sometimes shares its shelter with conspecifics or other moray eel species.

It is mainly nocturnal but also swims freely in the morning and evening. Its diet includes fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans. It is quick to appear when a fish is speared on the reef, being sensitive to stimuli from injured or stressed fish.