That's A Moray Monday

Welcome to a new weekly addition to the blog. Each week, That's a Moray Monday will feature a different representative from the Muraenidae family of bony fish. Why morays? Why not? Moray eels are large cosmopolitan marine eels with approximately 200 species in 15 genera. They are found along tropical and subtropical coral reef systems worldwide. The loss of coral reefs isn't just a story of the decline of coral species. Loss of coral reef habitat also threatens spectacularly diverse species such as morays. I've selected these charismatic megafauna as poster children of the wonders of reef evolution and as a reminder of the complexity of life that depends upon healthy reefs.

Blue Ribbon Eel
Rhinomuraena quaesita

The Blue Ribbon Eel can be found throughout the Indo-Pacific: From East Africa to the Tuamoto Islands, north to southern Japan, south to New Caledonia and French Polynesia; including the Marianas and Marshalls.

It occurs along lagoon and seaward reefs. In the wild, the ribbon eel buries itself in sand or hides in rocks or reefs, dashing out to feed on small fishes. Juveniles and sub-adults are jet black with a yellow dorsal fin, while females are yellow with a black anal fin with white margins on the fins. The adult male can be black, fluorescent blue with yellow highlights, blue-green, or brilliant yellow. It's most noticeable features include three fleshy tentacles on the tip of its lower jaw, a single fleshy pointed projection at the tip of its snout, and tubular anterior nostrils ending in gaudy, fan-like expansions that undoubtedly assist in capturing chemical signals in the water.

This beautiful eel is the only species of moray to be a protandrous hermaphrodite, beginning life as males but able to change into females if the need arises. The ribbon eel also changes its color from blue to yellow when it becomes fully mature (& female). The ribbon eel grows to an overall length of approximately 100 cm (36 in).