Moray eel: photo of moray eel and video. Moray eel is one of the most interesting and controversial fish. Habitats and way of life.
Their color is camouflage, matching their surroundings. And even inner side oral cavity They are also colored. After all, moray eels keep their mouths open almost all the time.
This fish is quite large, reaching 2.4 meters and weighing up to 45 kg. There are also very small ones that do not grow more than 10 cm. Although they are also equipped with sharp teeth.
There are about 100 species of moray eels. Most of them live in tropical and subtropical seas. Sometimes found in European waters. In the Red Sea, moray eels are represented by the genera Echidna and Gymnothorax. Echidnas include the snowflake moray and zebra moray, while Gymnothorax is a geometric moray, starry, white-spotted and elegant. The largest of them is the star moray eel, its average length reaches 180 cm.
The Mediterranean moray eel, up to one and a half meters long, lives in the Mediterranean Sea. It was she who was the heroine of the terrible legends of antiquity.
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The moray eel senses its prey from a distance by smell. Their vision is practically undeveloped, since moray eels are nocturnal animals.
Is moray eel dangerous for humans? Certainly! But only in the case when the person himself provokes it. A person who has become a victim of a moray eel attack is often himself to blame for this - he sticks his hand or leg into the crevice where the moray eel is hiding, or chases it.
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In 1948, I. Brock, who later became director of the Hawaiian Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Hawaii, scuba dived near Johnston Island in Pacific Ocean; the depth in this area is about 6 meters. Before immersing the doctor in the water, they threw a grenade - this was part of the research program that Brock was engaged in. Noticing a large moray eel in the water and thinking that it had been killed by a grenade, Dr. Brock pierced it with a spear. However, the moray eel, which was 2.4 meters long, was far from dead: it rushed straight at the doctor and grabbed his elbow. It has already been said about what kind of teeth a moray eel has. When she attacks a person, she inflicts a wound that looks like a barracuda bite. But unlike the barracuda, the moray eel does not immediately swim away, but hangs on its victim like a bulldog. The doctor managed to rise to the surface and reach a boat waiting nearby. However, surgeons had to tinker with this wound for a long time, as it turned out to be very severe. Brock almost lost his entire arm.
In addition, it turned out that moray eels can be specially trained to attack humans. There have been cases in history when these fish were prepared for months for the unusual role of cannibals - they were kept from hand to mouth, teased and specially accustomed to the smell of blood. And, indeed, moray eels began to hunt people. True, cases with trained moray eels have not happened for a long time.
When you see a common moray eel, you should not disturb this modest fish, approach its home, and even less stick your hands into its hole. Fans of sea hunting with a harpoon gun should also not shoot into holes and crevices just for fear that there may be a moray eel there. If there is still a moray eel in them, then in this case it will definitely attack you. Finally, remember that an untamed moray eel only in exceptional cases attacks an enemy larger than it in size. Therefore, if you do not provoke her, she will not touch you and will sail away on her own.
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Length: reaches 2.4 meters Weight: up to 45 kg Habitat: Pacific Ocean waters |
2. In fact, these creatures are quite timid and attack a person only if they are teased or disturbed.
3. The moray eel fish is a predator that has many features similar to snakes. For example, a powerful snake-like body allows them not only to move comfortably in the water, but also to hide in narrow burrows and rock crevices, which is why moray eels are often called snake fish.
4. In general, the appearance of these individuals is so unique that it is difficult to find another fish similar to moray eel.
5. The appearance of moray eels is quite frightening and unflattering: a huge mouth and small eyes, the body is slightly flattened on the sides. They have no pectoral fins, while the caudal and dorsal fins form one continuous fin fold.
6. Fish - the moray eel snake has no scales, and its color can vary depending on its habitat.
7. Most individuals have a variegated color with the presence of blue and yellow-brown shades, but there are also absolutely white fish.
9.Moray eels have impressive dimensions: the body length of moray eels ranges from 65 to 380 centimeters depending on the species, and the weight of individual representatives can significantly exceed 40 kilograms.
10. The front part of the fish's body is thicker than the back. Female moray eels usually have more weight and dimensions than males.
Giant moray eel Javan lycodont
11. In total, there are about 100 species of these predatory fish in the world. Among them there are both small individuals and giants, for example, the moray eel Gymnothorax javanicus. This giant moray eel is also called the Javan gymnothorax or Javan lycodont.
12. The camouflage color of giant moray eels is somewhat reminiscent of a leopard print. Head, top part the bodies and fins are yellow-brown and richly strewn with dark spots of various sizes. The abdominal part remains without a pattern.
13. This moray eel is rightfully considered gigantic. For clarity, you can imagine huge snake as thick as an adult’s thigh and 2.5–3 meters long.
15. Like all representatives of fish from the moray eel family, the giant moray eel avoids open water and prefers to hide in reliable shelters located at a depth of no more than 50 meters.
16. Moray eel Gymnothorax javanicus lives in tropical and temperate waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Red Sea, island coasts South-East Asia, New Caledonia and Australia.
Yellowmouth moray
17. Some species, such as the yellowmouth moray, are capable of descending to depths of one hundred and fifty meters and even lower.
18. Huge and sharp teeth help to quickly deal with prey. Almost all moray eels have not one, but two pairs of jaws in their mouths. The first - the main one, with large teeth, is where it should be, and the second - the pharyngeal - in the pharynx area
19. During hunting, the back jaw is located deep in the throat, but as soon as the prey is close to the moray eel’s mouth, it moves almost close to the front ones. Its main purpose is to push food into the esophagus and crush it. Agree, it is unlikely that the prey will be able to escape from this double “trap”.
20.Moray eel fish do not live in schools, preferring a solitary lifestyle.
21. The basis of the diet of moray eels consists of various fish, cuttlefish, sea urchins, octopuses and crabs.
22. Most moray eels choose to live at a depth of up to forty meters, spending most of their time in shallow water.
23. Moray eels are rarely eaten, so there is no targeted fishing for them.
24. The ancient Romans highly valued moray eel meat for its specific taste.
25. Nowadays, zoo lovers like to keep small moray eels in their aquariums.
26. During the day, moray eels hide among all kinds of shelters from corals and stones, while possessing excellent camouflage abilities.
27. In the dark, fish go out hunting and, relying on their excellent sense of smell, track down prey.
28. Features of the body structure allow moray eels to pursue their prey.
29.If the prey turns out to be too big for the moray eel, it begins to intensively help itself with its tail. The fish makes a kind of “knot”, which, passing along the entire body, creates great pressure in the jaw muscles, reaching up to one ton. As a result, the moray eel bites off a significant piece of its prey, at least partially satisfying the feeling of hunger.
30. Moray eels reproduce by throwing eggs. In the cold season, they gather in shallow waters, where the process of fertilization of eggs takes place.
31. The larva of the moray eel fish that is born is called “leptocephalus”.
32. The hatched fish egg has small size(no more than ten millimeters), so the current can transport them over a long distance, thus, individuals from one “brood” are scattered across different habitats.
33. Moray eels reach sexual maturity at the age of 4 to 6 years, after which the individual becomes capable of reproducing in the future.
34. Life expectancy of moray eel fish in conditions natural habitat is approximately 10 years.
35.They usually live in an aquarium for no more than two years, where they are fed mainly with fish and shrimp. Adults are given food approximately once a week, young moray eels are fed three times a week, respectively.
Moray eels are a genus of fish from the moray eel family of the eel order. Representatives of moray eels are often found in the Mediterranean and Red Seas. They also live in the waters of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Moray eels - predatory fish shaped like snakes. Their appearance is quite disgusting and frightening: a huge mouth, cold small eyes. Although some species have quite bright and attractive colors. For example, here is a photo of a long-nosed moray eel that lives in coral reefs.
Moray eels can be described as follows: the body is strong, serpentine, the gill openings are small and round. In the photo below there is a green moray eel and a small circle of its gill opening is clearly visible.
Continuing the description appearance Moray eels need to point out that they do not have pectoral fins. The remaining fins (dorsal, caudal and anal) are fused and form a single fin fold.
Moray eels' eyes are small and round. The mouth is large, its edges reach eye level; the teeth are awned, and in some species they are quite large.
The saber-toothed moray eel is the toothiest species of moray eel.
In total, about 120 species of moray eels have been discovered in the World Ocean. They love warm waters and are permanent inhabitants of coral reefs and underwater rocks, that is, they are lovers of types of bottom surface that are replete with various shelters.
There are two genera of moray eels living in the Red Sea: Echidna and Gymnothorax. The genus Echidna includes the snowflake moray eel and the zebra moray eel; to the genus Gymnothorax are the geometric moray eel, the star moray eel, the white-spotted moray eel and the elegant moray eel. The largest of these species is the star moray; its representatives can reach 180 cm in length.
The Mediterranean moray eel is found in the Mediterranean Sea; its length reaches up to one and a half meters.
It was the Mediterranean moray eel that was the prototype of sea monsters in the legends of antiquity.
The body color of moray eels is camouflage. Its tones and shades depend on the palette environment. The main task of the predator is to merge with the terrain so that the inattentive prey comes within attacking distance. It is worth noting that even the inner side of the mouth of moray eels can be camouflaged, well, with such a huge mouth this is not surprising.
The color of the mucus can noticeably distort the skin color of the moray eel.
Moray eels prefer to hunt at night. To do this, they do not leave their hiding places, but wait for prey. When hunting, moray eels rely on their sense of smell; their vision is poorly developed. Moray eels are nearsighted, but vision is not so important for nocturnal predators.
To catch the “smell” of prey in the water, the moray eel opens its mouth wide and swims, letting streams of water pass through it.
The following experiment was carried out with moray eels: they were thrown food, some pieces of which were coated with paraffin, which prevented the spread of odors. Moray eels did not eat such pieces of food; even if they fell into the fish’s mouth, it spat them out. But as soon as the paraffin layer was destroyed by contact with moray eels’ teeth or stones, a smell appeared, and moray eels immediately ate this food.
Moray eels almost always have an open mouth. Since moray eels do not have gill covers, for constant access new water to the gills, the moray eel constantly opens and closes its mouth.
Moray eels have two pairs of nasal openings: anterior and posterior. They are located on the upper side of the fish's snout. The front pair are ordinary holes, and the rear pair can take the form of tubes or leaves, different for different species.
The sense of smell is the moray eel’s main hunting tool; if its nose is “plugged”, it will not be able to hunt.
Moray eels have no tongue.
The powerful jaws of moray eels are “armed” with 24-28 sharp teeth. The teeth can be fang-shaped or awl-shaped, curved back. This structure of the teeth helps the moray eel to retain caught prey.
All moray eel species, with one exception, have teeth arranged in one row. The exception is the Atlantic green moray eel, this species has extra row teeth on the palatine bone.
Moray eels' teeth are powerful and sharp. There are species of moray eels whose diet mainly consists of crabs and other armored animals. The teeth of such species have a flattened shape, allowing them to split and grind the durable shells of their prey.
The average size The moray eels encountered by divers are about one meter.
Male moray eels are usually smaller in size than females, but not by much.
Moray eels reproduce by caviar; it is worth noting that there are viviparous fish. To breed in winter, moray eels gather in shallow water, females lay eggs and males fertilize them. The eggs are carried over long distances by the current.
Moray eels do not reproduce in captivity. But there was one exception - in January 2014, at the Vienna Zoo, a female ribbon moray eel laid fertilized eggs. These eggs turned out to be viable and some of them hatched.
Unfortunately, there is no information about what moray eel larvae eat and what conditions they need. Zoo Aquarium workers were unable to provide everything necessary for the survival of newborn moray eels. The little moray eels only lived for a week.
The size of the larvae barely reached a centimeter, but they resembled sea monsters with huge sharp teeth.
Being a nocturnal predator, during the day the moray eel hides in its shelter and is not active.
The moray eel's hunting method is cruel. She tries to tear her victim into pieces and does it very quickly.
Moray eels love to eat octopuses. They drive the mollusk into a corner, although the sedentary octopuses themselves try to hide from the predator in a shelter. But the trapped octopus has no chance. Moray eel is flexible like a snake and can stick its head into any crack. She systematically tears pieces of flesh from the soft mollusk until she eats the prey without a trace.
When biting off a piece from the victim's body, the moray eel often uses its muscular tail as a lever. This technique significantly increases the strength and power of her jaws.
Long-nosed moray eels - not close-up view moray eels They hunt very in an interesting way. There are projections above their upper jaw, from which they got their name.
These nasal outgrowths fluctuate in the water flow and remind the fish of their food - sea worms Polychaetes Such false "prey" attracts small fish ok, which become food for long-nosed moray eels.
Moray eel meat has a specific taste. IN Ancient Rome it was valued and rich citizens used to keep moray eels in special pools, growing them for food.
The aggressiveness of moray eels has also found its application. There was such a punishment for guilty slaves - to be thrown into the pool to be eaten by moray eels. The moray eels were not fed beforehand and were teased. When a person found himself in the pool, hungry and aggressive predators pounced on him, grabbed him with their jaws with sharp teeth and tried to tear out pieces of flesh.
But well-fed moray eels are not so aggressive. Here's a video from the Winnipeg Aquarium below. The green moray eel behaves with the diver like an affectionate kitten.
In the history of cases of moray eel attacks on people, quite a lot is known. There are absolutely different opinions regarding the danger of moray eels for people.
Someone thinks moray eels dangerous representatives underwater life and advises avoiding encounters with them. Some argue that moray eels pose a danger only when defending themselves from unexpected guests.
In any case, if a diver finds a moray eel, then you should not disturb its peace. You shouldn’t try to pet her, much less stick your hand into her hiding place. Such a “feat” can cost your health.
Back in 1948, biologist and researcher I. Brock, who soon became director of the Hawaiian Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Hawaii, conducted underwater research with scuba gear near Johnston Island in the Pacific Ocean. The studies were carried out on great depth, first a grenade was thrown into the water, then Brock sank to the bottom. During one of the dives, Brock noticed a large moray eel in the water. Thinking that she had been killed by the explosion, Brock pierced her with a spear. But the moray eel rushed at the offender and grabbed his elbow, and the length of the predator was more than two meters. The moray eels do not let go of their prey until they tear out a piece of flesh, but Brock managed to get to the surface and climb back onto the boat. The wound turned out to be severe and surgeons fought for a long time to save the hand.
The famous singer Dieter Bohlen (duet Modern Talking) also suffered from a moray eel attack. While diving in the area Seychelles The moray eel grabbed the singer’s leg, severely damaging not only the skin, but also the muscles. After the incident, Dieter Bohlen underwent surgery and was subsequently confined to hospital for a month. wheelchair.
In 1996, specialists caught two large moray eels for relocation on the Great Barrier Reef, popular among tourists. The cause was a moray eel attack on a diver from New Zealand, they damaged his arm so badly that he died from loss of blood. Both moray eels died during transportation.
You should not provoke moray eels. Remember in wildlife everyone eats everyone, and attempts to pet or touch a moray eel will be regarded as an attempt to attack. The fish will defend itself, and it knows how to do this.
If the moray eel is not provoked, it does not attack. Cases of unmotivated aggression on the part of moray eels are very rare; perhaps such moray eels were simply tortured by hunger.
There is no commercial fishing for moray eels. For food consumption, they are caught in single specimens.
For culinary specialists, you need to know that some organs of moray eels may contain poisons that cause severe stomach cramps. This issue needs to be studied separately before attempting to prepare dishes from moray eels.
Photo: Green moray eel at the Texas State Aquarium.
Like other predators, moray eels are an important link in biological systems, helping to maintain ecological balance. The extermination of moray eels will lead to catastrophic changes in the biosystems in which they live.
To distant ancient times there were legends among people about huge sea monsters, capable of swallowing ships whole. This role was also attributed to moray eels. Moray eels were also trained to attack people. But all this has never stopped people from eating moray eels.
Watch a film about moray eels from National Geographic:
Moray is a fish that is not particularly attractive. You won’t want to get involved with her, even without knowing about the dangers of too close contact. But we will still try to get closer to her and get to know this mysterious and very interesting creature, surrounded by gloomy glory.
What does a moray eel look like?
The fish, a photo of which you can see in this article, has bare skin decorated with an intricate pattern, devoid of scales and covered with a thick protective layer of mucus, small eyes and a huge mouth armed with elongated and very sharp teeth - that’s a short moray eel. To this we can add an elongated, laterally flattened body, devoid of pectoral and ventral fins, making it look like a snake.
It was previously believed that the teeth of moray eels were poisonous, just like those of a snake, but researchers have discovered that this is not true. But the mucus that covers this body saves it not only from microbes and mechanical damage, but is also poisonous. From contact with her human skin Traces like a burn may appear.
Moray eel is a fish that has a wide variety of colors - it all depends on the habitat of this predator. Its camouflage color helps the fish blend into the landscape. Even the inside of her gums are covered with the same pattern as her skin, because moray eels almost always keep their mouths open (too long teeth prevent it from closing).
The moray eel senses its victims by smell at a great distance, but its vision, like that of a nocturnal animal, is almost undeveloped.
Swallow even big piece, torn off by this fish, it is helped by an additional jaw called the pharyngeal. It is located in the moray eel’s throat and moves forward as soon as the prey is dangerously close to the predator’s mouth.
Moray eels can live both at great depths (up to 60 m) and in the intertidal zone. And some of them, for example, those belonging to the genus Gymnothorax, are able to get out of the water that lingers in crevices during low tide, and crawl many meters on dry land in search of access to the sea or to escape pursuit.
Moray eel sizes
The sizes of these fish can fluctuate with great amplitude. For example, the giant moray eel (also called the Javan lycodont) reaches a length of up to 3.75 meters and weighs up to 45 kg. There are also very small specimens that do not grow more than 10 cm. However, their mouths are also equipped with sharp teeth.
Males of all moray eels are noticeably smaller than females.
There are up to 200 species of these predators in the world. And most of them live in the warm waters of tropical and subtropical seas.
In the Red Sea you can find the genus of moray eels Echidna, which include zebra and snow moray eels, as well as Gymnothorax - geometric, star and white-spotted fish. The largest among them reaches 3 m in length.
The eponymous inhabitant Mediterranean Sea grows up to one and a half meters. It was this monster that served as the basis for the appearance of terrible legends that have come since antiquity.
Way of existence
Moray - fish leading nightlife. During the day, the predator sits quietly in rock crevices or in coral thickets, and at nightfall it goes out hunting. Its victims are small fish, crabs, octopuses and
Among moray eels there are species that specialize mainly in such beauties. Such beauties can be recognized by the shape of their teeth. They are perfectly suited for cracking shells.
By the way, watching moray eels hunt is not very pleasant. She tears the victim into small pieces with her teeth, and literally within a minute there is nothing left of her.
And the moray eel drives the octopus into some crevice and, sticking its head in there, tears off its tentacle after tentacle until it is all eaten.
About collaboration with moray eels
Moray eel is a fish about which there are many dark legends as an insatiable dangerous creature, who knows no pity. But there are other eyewitness accounts that give us another side of her image.
For example, a moray eel can cooperate in hunting with sea bass. He, inviting her for prey, swims up to the hole and shakes his head. If the moray eel is hungry, it goes after the perch. He leads the fish to the hidden “dinner” and waits for the predator to dive into the hole and catch it, so that he can then share it with his hunting comrade.
And wrasse fish are completely resigned to the body of the gloomy predator, since they are famous and respected doctors. These nimble bright fish, working in pairs, they clean the body of moray eels, starting from the eyes, moving to the gills and fearlessly swimming into their mouths. And, interestingly, moray eels at these doctors’ appointments do not touch not only them, but also other fish that have swum to the wrasses for help and are waiting for their turn.
What is unusual about the saber-toothed moray eel?
Separately, it is perhaps worth mentioning moray eels living in the eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean. Because of the black stripes decorating their yellow body, they are also called tiger moray eels. The jaws of these predators are decorated with two rows of teeth of different sizes. By the way, this is another special sign of these fish.
The fact is that the saber-toothed moray eel is armed with transparent, glass-looking teeth, which, however, can easily crush the shell of a crab or crayfish. The cleanliness of this shining weapon is taken care of by cleaner shrimp, which live safely in the mouth of the terrible creature.
Does moray eel attack humans?
This gloomy and inhospitable-looking creature is, of course, unsafe for people. But a moray eel bite will occur only if the person himself becomes a source of danger for it. That is, if a diver tries to stick his arm or leg into the hole where this fish is hiding, then he should not be surprised by the reaction of the frightened animal. Moreover, you should not chase a moray eel swimming away from you.
It is also dangerous to shoot from a harpoon into a crevice, fearing that there may be a predator there. After all, if she really ends up there, then, angry, she will definitely try to attack you.
Remember that this fish does not just attack a creature that is larger than it, which means leave it alone and it will not touch you. Moreover, if you are careful and prudent, then the moray eel (the fish whose photo you had the opportunity to see here) can become your comrade. Famous ocean researchers and divers have written about this repeatedly.
I don’t think anyone is fascinated by the appearance of moray eels - despite the often beautiful color of its body, the appearance of this fish is repulsive. The predatory look of small, prickly eyes, an unpleasant mouth with needle-like teeth, a snake-like body and the inhospitable character of moray eels are absolutely not conducive to friendly communication.
Let's try to get to know this interesting and interesting unique fish. Perhaps our attitude towards her will warm up, at least a little.
Moray eels (Muraena) belong to a genus of fish from the eel family (Muraenidae). About 200 species of moray eels live in the seas of the World Ocean. Most of them prefer warm waters tropical and subtropical zones. A frequent visitor to coral reefs and underwater rocks.
Quite often found in the Red Sea, they also live in the Mediterranean. The Red Sea is home to the snowflake moray, zebra moray, geometric moray, star moray, white-spotted moray, and elegant moray. The largest of them is the star moray eel, its average length reaches 180 cm.
The Mediterranean moray eel, which lives in the Mediterranean Sea, reaches 1.5 meters in length. It was her image that became the prototype for numerous legends and myths about these predatory fish with quite unusual appearance. For permanent residence, they choose clefts in rocks, shelters in underwater stone rubble, in general, places where they can reliably hide a large and completely unprotected body. It lives mainly in the bottom layer of seas.
The body color is camouflaged and matches the surrounding landscape. More often, moray eels are colored in dark brown or grayish tones with spots that form a kind of marble pattern on the body. There are also monochromatic and even white specimens. Since the mouth of moray eels is of considerable size, its inner surface is colored to match the color of the body, so as not to unmask the moray eel when it opens its mouth wide. And the mouth of moray eels is almost always open. By pumping water through its open mouth into the gill openings, the moray eel increases the access of oxygen to the body.
The head bears small round eyes, which give the moray eel an even more evil appearance. Behind the eyes there are small gill openings, which usually have a dark spot. The anterior and posterior nasal openings of moray eels are located on the upper side of the snout - the first pair is represented by simple openings, while the second pair has the shape of tubes in some species, and leaves in others. If a moray eel “plugs” its nasal openings, it will not be able to find its prey. Interesting feature moray eel – absence of tongue. Their powerful jaws are seated with 23-28 sharp fang-shaped or awl-shaped teeth, curved back, which helps moray eels hold caught prey. Almost all moray eels have teeth arranged in one row. The exception is the Atlantic green moray eel, in which an additional row of teeth is located on the palatine bone.
Moray eels have long and extremely sharp teeth. In some species of moray eels, whose diet is dominated by armored animals - crustaceans, crabs, the teeth have a flattened shape. With such teeth it is easier to split and grind the durable protection of prey. Moray eels' teeth do not contain poison. The jaws of all moray eels are very powerful, large sizes. Moray eels have no pectoral fins, and the rest - the dorsal, anal and caudal fins - have fused into one train, framing the back of the body.
Moray eels can reach significant sizes. According to various sources, their length can be 2.5 or even more than 3 meters (the largest giant moray eel in the world is Thyrsoidea macrura). One and a half meter individuals weigh on average 8-10 kg. Interestingly, males are smaller and “slimmer” than females. Here's the strong sex!, with a weight of up to 40 kg. Among moray eels there are also small species, the length of which does not exceed ten centimeters. The average size of the moray eels most commonly encountered by divers is approximately one meter. As a rule, males are slightly smaller than females.
Moray eels reproduce using eggs. IN winter months they gather in shallow water, where fertilization of eggs laid by females occurs with the reproductive products of males. Eggs and moray eel larvae hatching from them move in the water sea currents and are spread over a large area of sea waters. Moray eels are predators, their diet consists of various bottom animals - crabs, crustaceans, cephalopods, especially octopuses, small sea fish and even sea urchins. They obtain food mainly at night. Lying in ambush, moray eels lie in wait for unwary prey, jumping out like an arrow if a potential victim appears within reach, and grabs it with its sharp teeth. During the day, moray eels sit in their homes - crevices of rocks and corals, among large stones and other natural shelters and rarely hunt. The sight of a moray eel dealing with its prey is quite unpleasant. She instantly tears her prey into small pieces with her long teeth and in a matter of moments only memories remain from the victim.
Moray eels can hunt not only from ambush. Favorite treat Most moray eels are octopuses. In pursuit of this sedentary animal, the moray eel drives it into a “corner” - some kind of shelter or crevice and, poking its head towards its soft body, tears off piece by piece from it, starting with the tentacles, until it tears it into small pieces and eats without a trace. Moray eels can swallow small prey whole, like snakes. When biting off a piece of the body from a large prey, the moray eel is often helped by its own tail, which, like a lever, increases the power of its jaws. Nosed moray eels use a unique method of hunting. These relatively small representatives of moray eels are named so for the outgrowths above their upper jaw. These nasal projections, oscillating in the current of water, resemble sessile sea worms - polychaetes. The sight of “prey” attracts small fish, which very quickly find themselves prey to a hidden predator.
In search of food, moray eels, like most nocturnal predators, rely on their sense of smell. Their vision is poorly developed, and even at night it is a poor assistant in searching for food. A moray eel can sense its prey from a considerable distance. The notoriety of fish dangerous to humans has been attached to moray eels since ancient times. In ancient Rome, noble citizens often kept moray eels in pools, growing them for food - the meat of these fish was extremely valued due to their specific taste. Quickly assessing the ability of moray eels to be aggressive, noble Romans used them as a tool to punish offending slaves, and sometimes threw people into a tank with moray eels solely for the sake of entertainment. Indeed - oh, times!.. Oh, morals!.. Moray, before such torture or spectacles were carried out, was kept from hand to mouth. When a person found himself in the pool, they pounced on him and, hanging on the victim like bulldogs, shook their jaws, tearing out pieces of flesh.
About the danger of moray eels for people in natural environment habitat there are different opinions. Some researchers consider it to be a fairly peaceful animal, using its teeth solely for the sake of protection from too annoying divers, while others consider the moray eel to be an extremely dangerous sea creature. One way or another, there are many known cases of attacks and bites of people by moray eels. Here are some of them. In 1948, biologist I. Brock, who later became director of the Hawaiian Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Hawaii, was scuba diving near Johnston Island in the Pacific Ocean at shallow depths. Before Brock was immersed in the water, a grenade was thrown - this was part of the research program that the biologist was engaged in. Noticing a large moray eel in the water and thinking that it had been killed by a grenade, Brock pierced it with a spear. However, the moray eel, which was 2.4 meters long, turned out to be far from dead: it rushed straight at the offender and grabbed his elbow. A moray eel, attacking a person, inflicts a wound that is similar to the bite mark of a barracuda. But unlike the barracuda, the moray eel does not immediately swim away, but hangs on its victim like a bulldog. Brock managed to rise to the surface and reach a boat waiting nearby. However, surgeons had to tinker with this wound for a long time, as it turned out to be very severe. The victim almost lost his arm.
The famous pop singer Dieter Bohlen (duet Modern Talking) also suffered from a moray eel. While diving near the Seychelles, a moray eel grabbed his leg, tearing the singer's skin and muscles. After this incident, D. Bolen underwent surgery and spent a whole month in a wheelchair. Once, experts even had to relocate a pair of moray eels from a reef popular among tourists (Old cod hole, Great Barrier Reef, 1996). While feeding, the fish tore the hand of a New Zealand diver so badly that it was impossible to save him. Unfortunately, the moray eels died during transportation.
I think that the examples given will help novice divers assess the danger of encountering moray eels and take measures to prevent such cases. These measures are simple - you should not provoke the moray eel into aggressive actions. Very rarely (usually exhausted by hunger) moray eels attack people for no reason. Having seen a moray eel, you should not irritate this fish - approach its home, try to stroke it, and even more so - stick your hands into its shelter. Fans of spearfishing should not shoot into holes and crevices just to check whether there is a moray eel there. If she really lives there, she will certainly attack you. If you don't provoke her, she won't touch you.
There is no targeted fishing for moray eels. They are caught in single specimens for food consumption. It should be noted that the meat and some organs of moray eels are different time years may contain toxic substances, causing severe stomach cramps and nerve damage. Therefore, you should study this issue in more detail before trying the taste of moray eel meat.
Sometimes moray eels are kept in large aquariums. The behavior of these predators in a confined space may be different. Often moray eels show extreme aggressiveness towards their neighbors in the aquarium, sometimes they are completely indifferent to their roommates. In captivity, moray eels can live more than ten years. Moray eels, like all predatory fish, are an important part of the ecological balance of the seas where they live. Therefore, their extermination negatively affects the health of the fauna of these regions.
In ancient times, therefore, moray eels were considered terrible monsters. Back then they believed in huge sea monsters capable of swallowing a whole ship. And this ability was attributed, in particular, to moray eels. Later in history, there were cases where they were trained to attack humans. But all this has never stopped people from hunting moray eels. It is eaten and considered a delicacy, although its meat can be very poisonous. The ancient Romans kept moray eels in special pens to prepare them for feasts. They were a terrible execution for slaves. This is such a strange food chain. In the Caribbean, moray eel ceviche is still popular - a dish that is prepared in a very exotic and rather brutal way.
