Shorttailed snake moray (Scuticaria okinawae)
Source-cited species reference: taxonomy from WoRMS, biology from FishBase, conservation from IUCN Red List, description from Wikipedia.
Scuticaria okinawae is a moray eel found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is commonly known as the shorttailed snake moray, shorttail moray, Seale's moray eel, or the Bennett's moray.
- Scientific name
- Scuticaria okinawae
- Authority
- (Jordan & Snyder, 1901)
- Family
- Muraenidae
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Maximum length
- 90.5 cm
- Habitat zone
- demersal
- Iucn red list
- Least Concern
Classification (WoRMS)
Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Teleostei · Order: Anguilliformes · Family: Muraenidae · Genus: Scuticaria.
Accepted name: Scuticaria okinawae · Authority: (Jordan & Snyder, 1901) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 217531.
Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Gymnomuraena brevicauda Regan, 1903; Scuticaria unicolor Seale, 1917; Uropterygius okinawae Jordan & Snyder, 1901; Uropterygius sealei Whitley, 1932.
Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=217531 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Biology and life history (FishBase)
Measured values published by FishBase for Scuticaria okinawae. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.
Maximum length: 90.5 cm · Habitat zone: demersal · Body shape: eel-like · Vulnerability index: 56.2 of 100 · Aquarium trade: never/rarely.
FishBase notes: Benthic (Ref. 58302).
Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 55168) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Scuticaria-okinawae.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Conservation status (IUCN Red List)
The IUCN Red List assesses Scuticaria okinawae (Jordan & Snyder, 1901) as Least Concern (code LC). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.
Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 195815) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/195815/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 5213109) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/5213109/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.
Description and natural history (Wikipedia)
The shorttail moray is uniform gray, brown, or purplish-brown in color, having a slender body with a blunt head and small eyes, and attains a length of up to 90.5 cm SL. This species is identified by its noticeably short tail, with the anus at TL. The shorttail moray is believed to be nocturnal, as there is no certainty in its sleep cycle. This species of moray has been rarely sighted, and not much is known regarding its life.
The shorttail moray can be found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region, including Japan, Hawaii, etc, as well as Indonesia, the Philippines, South Africa, etc. It is usually found hiding in coral reefs and rocks.
Scuticaria okinawae was previously referred to as Gymnomuraena bennetti, Scuticaria bennetti, or Uropterygius bennetti in a number of publications (Smith 1962; McCosker et al. 1984; Randall 1996). However, Böhlke and McCosker (1997) demonstrated that Gymnomuraena bennetti is a junior synonym of Channomuraena vittata, so they resurrected okinawae for the eel previously misidentified as bennetti. Uropterygius unicolor Seale, 1917 (given the unnecessary replacement name U. sealei Whitley, 1932) and Gymnomuraena brevicauda Regan, 1903 are synonyms.
Source: Wikipedia: Scuticaria okinawae — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuticaria_okinawae (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
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