That's A Moray Monday: The "I Haven't Posted One Of These In Weeks" Edition

Apologies to those taxonomically inclined readers who may only frequent MBSL&S for the Moray Monday feature. But I promise I'll go "big" on my return to cataloging the wonderful world of morays with this week's edition. To wit: How can you get any bigger than the Giant moray?

Giant Moray
Gymnothorax javanicus

At the risk of being called a size queen by Christopher over at Catalog of Organisms, I must admit that this fish is impressive! At a recorded length of 300 cm. (9.8 feet) and weighing-in at 30 kg. (66 pounds), G. javanicus is a true giant. This is the largest Indo-Pacific moray eel, found in the Red Sea and East Africa to the Marquesas and Oeno Atoll (Pitcairn Group), north to the Ryukyu and Hawaiian islands, south to New Caledonia and the Austral Islands.

Because of its position at the top of the reef's food chain it is often ciguatoxic. This is a beautiful example of biomagnification as ciguatoxin bioaccumulates in lower trophic level organisms, resulting in higher concentration of the toxin at higher levels of the food chain. Predator species near the top of marine food chains in tropical waters, such as barracuda, moray eel, parrotfish, grouper, triggerfish, and amberjack, are most likely to cause ciguatera poisoning, although many other species have been found to cause occasional outbreaks of ciguatera. Ciguatoxin is very heat-resistant, so ciguatoxin-laden fish cannot be detoxified by cooking.

While the Giant moray exhibits similar reclusive behavior--in keeping with smaller moray relatives--the sheer size of the Giant moray and tendency to not back-down have earned it a reputation among divers as more prone to attacking when provoked.

When not attacking stupid divers, the Giant moray can be found in lagoon habitats and on seaward reefs. They feed primarily on fishes and occasionally on crustaceans. It's a commonly seen species along deep drop-offs and slopes in Indonesian waters. The Giant moray exhibits slightly different coloration from juvenile to adult. Juveniles are tan with numerous large black spots while adults have black specks that grade into leopard-like spots behind the head and a black area surrounding the gill opening.