That's A Moray Monday

This week's moray is yet another example of the confusion of common names. Take a look at the eel in the above image. What common name might you give it? If you're like me, the obvious common name is, well, obvious. But it seems to not be the accepted common name by taxonomists. Ah well, by whatever name, this fish is a beauty.

Starry Moray
Gymnothorax nudivomer

Did you guess "Yellow-Mouth Moray"? I did, and quite a few dive photography sites on the web have used that name for this species. But when I searched for Yellow-Mouth Moray, it directs me to the FishBase taxonomic page for Gymnothorax nudivomer. But the accepted common name for the species is Starry moray. And I suppose I can buy that, given the Milky Way-like field of white starry spots against the darker body color. But come on. Isn't the vibrant yellow mouth more of an eye-catching diagnostic?

The Starry moray is a reef associated eel with a tremendous range. In the Indo-Pacific, it can be found in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba, to South Africa. It can also be found in the Hawaiian and Marquesas Islands, north to Japan's Ryukyu Islands, and south to New Caledonia.

The species has a relatively short, blunt snout. Many morays possess teeth along the surface of the hard palate of the mouth, called vomerine teeth. Some amphibians, like frogs, possess vomerine teeth as well. They're particularly useful to non-chewing predators for holding onto squirming prey items. But larger Starry moray specimens apparently lack vomerine teeth. Another unusual feature is that the larger teeth possess a finely serrated edge.

Starry morays can reach a length of up to 180 cm. (5.9 ft.) and inhabit both inner and outer reef slopes to a depth of 270 meters. According to one source, the slime coating of the species is toxic. Perhaps because of this, no commercial fishery exists for this magnificent fish.