​35 interesting facts about moray eel fish. Moray fish. Lifestyle and habitat of moray eels Are moray eels dangerous?

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 the warm waters of 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 ah with enough 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, it inner surface 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 and large. 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. The eggs and moray eel larvae that hatch from them move in the water by sea currents and are carried throughout large area sea ​​areas. 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. The favorite delicacy of most moray eels is octopus. 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 flow of water, resemble sessile sea ​​worms- polychaete. 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 because of 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.

There are dangers of moray eels for people in their natural habitat. different opinions. Some researchers consider it a fairly peaceful animal, using its teeth solely for the sake of protection from too annoying divers, others consider the moray eel to be 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, scuba dived near Johnston Island in 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.

Suffered from moray eel and famous crooner Dieter Bohlen (duet Modern Talking). While diving in the area Seychelles The 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 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 that cause 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 Caribbean and now moray eel ceviche is popular - a dish that is prepared in a very exotic and rather brutal way.

This huge, scary fish is very reminiscent of a snake, and not only in the outline of its elongated body. Like all eels, the moray eel swims and crawls like a true snake, noticeably bending its body.

Description of moray eel

Small eyes, a constantly open mouth, sharp curved teeth, a serpentine body without scales - this is a typical moray eel from the moray eel family, included in the genus of ray-finned fish. Moray eels are never small: representatives of the smallest species grow up to 0.6 m and weigh 8–10 kg, while giant moray eels grow almost up to 4 meters with a weight of 40 kg.

Appearance

Few people have been able to see a moray eel in full growth, since during the day it almost completely climbs into a rocky crevice, leaving only its head outside. Rare observers think that the moray eel is grinning viciously: this impression is created thanks to its prickly gaze and constantly open mouth with large pointed teeth.

In fact, the muzzle of the moray eel represents not so much hidden aggression as the innate instinct of an ambush predator - in anticipation of the victim, the moray eel practically freezes, but never closes its mouth.

Interesting. It has been suggested that the moray eel cannot close its mouth because its giant teeth prevent it. In fact, this is how the fish gets the oxygen it needs by passing water through its mouth and pumping it through its gills.

Moray eels do not have many teeth (23–28), forming one row and slightly curved back. Those species that mainly hunt crustaceans are armed with less sharp teeth, adapted for crushing shells.

Moray eels have no tongue, but nature made up for this deficiency by rewarding them with two pairs of nostrils resembling small tubes. Moray eels (like other fish) need nostrils not to breathe, but to sense smells. The moray eel's excellent sense of smell to some extent compensates for the capabilities of its weak visual apparatus.

Some compare moray eels to snakes, others to fantastic leeches: the disproportionately elongated and laterally flattened body is to blame. The resemblance to a leech arises from the thin tail, which contrasts with the thickened snout and front of the body.

Moray eels do not have pectoral fins, but stretches along the entire ridge dorsal. The thick, smooth skin is devoid of scales and is painted in camouflage colors that replicate the surrounding landscape.

The most popular shades and patterns of moray eels:

• black;
• grey;
• brown;
• white;
• finely speckled pattern (polka dots, marble, stripes and asymmetrical spots).

Since the moray eel does not close its impressive mouth in ambush, the inner surface of the latter must match the coloring of the body so as not to disturb the overall camouflage.

Types of moray eels

Still in different sources There are conflicting data on moray eel species. The most commonly cited figure is 200, while the genus Muraena consists of only 10 species. The list includes:

• muraena appendiculata;
• muraena argus;
• muraena augusti;
• muraena clepsydra;
• muraena helena (European moray eel);
• muraena lentiginosa;
• muraena melanotis;
• muraena pavonina;
• muraena retifera;
• muraena robusta.

Where did the number 200 come from? There are approximately the same number of species in the family Muraenidae (Moray eels), which is part of the eel order. This extensive family consists of two subfamilies (Muraeninae and Uropterygiinae), 15 genera and 85–206 species.

In turn, the subfamily Muraeninae includes the genus Moray, which includes 10 listed species. By and large, even the giant moray eel has an indirect relationship with the genus Muraena: it belongs to the Moray family, but is a representative of another genus - Gymnothorax. It is not for nothing that the giant moray eel is also called the Javan gymnothorax.

Character and behavior

There are many speculations surrounding snake-like fish that do not stand up to scrutiny upon close examination. The moray eel will not attack first unless it is provoked, teased or shown intrusive attention (which is often the case with inexperienced divers).

Of course, hand-feeding a moray eel is a spectacular spectacle, but at the same time extremely dangerous (as happens when careless handling of any wild predator). A disturbed fish will not stand on ceremony and can seriously injure you. Sometimes spontaneous aggression of a moray eel is provoked not only by fear, but also by injury, physiological condition or malaise.

Even if caught on a hook or harpoon, a moray eel will defend itself until its strength runs out. At first, she will try to hide in a crevice, dragging the underwater hunter along with her, but if the maneuver does not work, already on land she will begin to wriggle, crawl towards the sea, fight and irreconcilably click her teeth.

Attention. Having bitten, the moray eel does not let go of the victim, but clings to it with a death grip (as a pit bull does) and shakes its jaw, which leads to the appearance of deep lacerations.

Rarely has anyone managed to escape from the sharp teeth of a moray eel on their own, without resorting to outside help. The bite of this predatory fish is extremely painful, and the wound heals for a very long time (even to the point of death).

By the way, it was precisely the latter circumstance that led ichthyologists to think about the presence of poison in the dental canals of moray eels, in particular, ciguatoxin. But after a series of studies, moray eels were rehabilitated, recognizing that they do not have poisonous glands.

Slow healing of lacerations is now attributed to the action of bacteria that multiply on food debris in the mouth: these microorganisms infect the wounds.

Image and life expectancy

Moray eels are recognized loners, observing the principle of territoriality. Sometimes they are closely adjacent to each other, but only because of the tight junction of convenient crevices. There they sit all day long, occasionally changing position, but leaving monstrous heads outside. Most species are active at night, but there are exceptions that catch prey during daylight hours, usually in shallow water.

In tracking the victim, their vision helps them little, but mainly their excellent sense of smell. If the nasal passages become clogged, it becomes a real disaster.

The teeth of many moray eels are located on two pairs of jaws, one of which is retractable: it sits deep in the throat and at the right moment “rolls out” to grab the victim and drag it into the esophagus. This design of the oral apparatus is due to the narrowness of the burrows: the moray eel cannot (like other underwater predators) completely open its mouth in order to immediately pull its prey inside.

Important. Moray eels have almost no natural enemies. This is facilitated by two circumstances - her sharp teeth and the force with which she clings to the enemy, as well as her constant presence in natural shelters.

A free-swimming predator is rarely attacked by larger fish, but always quickly takes refuge in the nearest rocky crevice. They say that some species escape from their pursuers by crawling like snakes across land. It is also necessary to switch to land transportation during low tides.

No one has yet measured the lifespan of moray eels, but it is believed that most species live up to 10 years or more.

Range, habitats of moray eels

Moray eels are inhabitants of the seas and oceans, preferring salty, warm waters. Stunning species diversity of these fish is noted in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. Many moray eels have chosen the water expanses of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans (certain areas), as well as the Mediterranean Sea.

Moray eels, like many eel-like fish, rarely dive deep, choosing rocky shallow waters and coral reefs with a depth of no more than 40 m. Moray eels spend almost their entire lives in natural shelters, such as the internal cavities of large sponges, rock crevices and coral thickets.

Diet, what does moray eel eat?

A moray eel sitting in ambush lures potential prey with its nasal tubes (similar to annelids), moving them. The fish, confident that it has noticed sea worms, swims closer and gets caught in the teeth of a moray eel, which grabs it with a lightning-fast throw.

The diet of moray eels consists of almost all digestible marine inhabitants:

• octopuses;
• lobsters;
• fish;
• cuttlefish;
• crabs;
• squid;
• sea ​​urchins.

To catch large prey (for example, octopuses), as well as to cut it up, moray eels use a special technique, the main tool of which is the tail. Moray wraps it around a tightly fitting stone, ties itself into a knot and begins to contract its muscles, moving the knot towards the head: the pressure in the jaws increases, which allows the predator to easily tear out pieces of flesh from the victim.

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 are 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 of the appearance of moray eels, it is necessary 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 like warm waters, are permanent inhabitants of coral reefs and underwater rocks, that is, they are lovers of such types of bottom surface, which 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 inner side Moray eels have a camouflage color that can graze, but 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. An exception is the Atlantic green moray eel, this species has an additional row of 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 of moray eels encountered by divers is 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 in a very interesting way. There are projections above their upper jaw, from which they got their name.

These nasal outgrowths oscillate in the water flow and remind the fish of their food - polychaete marine worms. Such false “prey” attracts small fish, 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 completely different opinions about the danger of moray eels to people.

Some consider moray eels to be dangerous representatives of underwater life and advise 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 research was carried out at shallow depths, 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. During an underwater dive in the Seychelles area, a 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 a wheelchair for a month.

In 1996, specialists caught two large moray eels on the Bolshoy, popular among tourists, for the purpose of relocating them. barrier reef. 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 the balance of ecological equilibrium. The extermination of moray eels will lead to catastrophic changes in the biosystems in which they live.

In 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:

The moray eel has long been considered a dangerous and voracious predator. According to ancient Roman sources, noble gentlemen and nobles used moray eels as one of the ways to punish guilty slaves. People were thrown into a pool with moray eels and watched a desperate fight. Before this, predatory fish were kept from hand to mouth and for several months accustomed to the smell of human blood.

This is one of dark sides life of moray eels. But are they really so terrible and dangerous for humans? The answer is no! Most of the attacks of moray eels on humans occur solely through the fault of the person himself. And rightly so! There is no point in teasing a predator with teeth long and sharp as daggers.

Moray eel attacks a larger enemy only in cases of self-defense. Remember, not a single predator will simply rush at a creature larger than itself. Therefore, curious divers should not stick their hands where they shouldn’t, otherwise they could end up without fingers or even an arm. In particular, you should not stick your hands into small holes, caves and grottoes located in coral reefs, since this is where moray eels live.

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. It is also called Javan gymnothorax or Javan lycodont. These moray eels grow up to 3 meters in length.

Its home is the tropical and temperate waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans, the Red Sea, and the coasts of the islands South-East Asia, New Caledonia and Australia.

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.

The camouflage color of giant moray eels is somewhat reminiscent of a leopard print. The head, upper body and fins are yellow-brown and richly strewn with dark spots of various sizes. The abdominal part remains without a pattern.

The giant moray eel hunts alone and exclusively at night, but sometimes there are exceptions (more on this below, when the joint hunting of the giant moray eel and sea bass will be considered).

You can't call her a gourmet. It feeds on almost any fish, large or small, crustaceans and cephalopods. She swallows small prey whole, and drives large prey into some crevice and there tears off piece by piece from it.

Huge and sharp teeth help to quickly deal with prey. BUT, here lies the little secret of almost all moray eels; they 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. (P.S. They say that it was the moray eel that served as the prototype for the creation of a second, smaller, retractable jaw in the monster from the movie “Alien.”)

During hunting, the back jaw is located deep in the throat, but as soon as the prey is close to the mouth of the moray eel, 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”.

Well, now what was promised - some interesting information about the joint hunt of the giant moray eel and sea bass - another predatory inhabitant of the underwater world.

Usually each of them hunts alone: ​​moray eel - at night and from ambush, and sea bass - during the day and in open water, so the only shelter from it is corals. But some moray eels of the Red Sea decided to break all the rules - periodically they go hunting during the day, and even with a companion.

Almost always, the initiator of such a hunt is sea bass. He swims up to the moray eel's hole and if its owner has already put her head out, then he shakes his head in different directions right in front of her nose. These actions mean an invitation to hunt together. The fish takes this step only if it is very hungry or its prey has hidden in a shelter not far from the moray eel’s burrow.

Having led it to the right place, the perch begins to shake its head, pointing to the right place. And the moray eel slips inside for its prey. All lunch is caught. The giant moray eel does not always eat the fish it catches with the help of its companion. Periodically, she gives it to her “comrade”.

Little is known about the reproduction process of the giant moray eel. Like other species, it reproduces by eggs. Most often, several females gather in shallow water, where they lay eggs, which are then fertilized by the males. Eggs often travel in water along with sea currents and are carried over long distances.

Hatched moray eels feed on zooplankton until they grow up. They then move to corals or reef areas to escape other predators, most often sharks.

Moray eels are not eaten very often and there is no targeted fishing for them. Although in ancient Rome moray eels were very highly valued for the specific taste of their meat. If smaller representatives of moray eels can be kept in an aquarium, then such a trick is unlikely to work with a giant moray eel, since it will need too much space for a comfortable stay.

Moray eels are undoubtedly very graceful animals, but few people know that these fish are capable of hunting effectively with other types of fish like groupers, but they also pose a certain danger to humans, especially to careless divers.

Moray eels are eels from the moray eel family (lat. Muraenidae). There are approximately 200 species and all are almost exclusively marine animals, but a few species are regularly found in brackish water and some, like the freshwater moray eel (Gymnothorax polyuranodon), can sometimes be found in fresh water. With a maximum length of 11.5 cm (4.5 in), the smallest moray eel is most likely the Snyder's moray eel (Anarchias leucurus), while the most long views, like the slender giant moray eel (lat. Strophidon sathete), grow up to 4 meters (13 ft) in length. The largest in terms of weight is the giant moray eel (Gymnothorax javanicus), which reaches a length of almost 3 meters (9.8 ft) and can weigh more than 36 kg (79 lb).

Moray eels are often mistaken for angry and grumpy animals. They are forced to constantly open and close their mouths to allow water to circulate through their gills, allowing them to breathe. Apparently, we perceive the opening of the mouth as aggressive behavior, but that’s how they just breathe! In truth, moray eels hide from people in cracks and crevices; they prefer to run away than to attack. Moray eels are shy and secretive, and will only attack people in self-defense or mistaken identity. Most attacks occur due to approaching a moray eel's lair, but attacks also occur during hand-feeding of moray eels by divers, a practice often used by diving companies to attract tourists.

Moray eels have poor eyesight and rely mainly on their keen sense of smell, which is why it is difficult for them to find the line between their fingers and the food held by their hand. Many divers have lost fingers while trying to feed moray eels. For this reason, hand feeding of moray eels is prohibited in some places, including the Great Barrier Reef (Australia). Moray eels have a special way of capturing prey, but this is a very strong mechanism due to which the eel will not let go of the prey, even if it is in danger of death and therefore has to manually unclench its jaws. While most are not considered poisonous, circumstantial evidence suggests that some species may be.

Video. Interesting things about moray eels

Eels that eat certain types of toxic algae, or more often fish that have eaten some of these algae, can lead to ciguatera (fish poisoning). IN daytime moray eels rest in crevices and hunt at night, although they may chase small fish and crustaceans that swim nearby during the daytime.

Moray eels are found in tropical and temperate seas, although a wide variety can be found on reefs in warm oceans. Very few species are found outside the tropics and subtropics, and those that briefly extend beyond these regions. They live at depths of up to several hundred meters, where they spend most of their time hiding inside crevices and burrows. While several species are regularly found in brackish water, very few species can be found in fresh water, e.g. freshwater moray eel(lat. Gymnothorax polyuranodon) and pink-lipped moray eel (lat. Echidna rhodochilus).

Despite the serpentine appearance, the moray eel is a fish, not a reptile or amphibian. Adult moray eels lack pectoral and ventral fins, but have long fins that extend from the back of the head to the tail and along the entire abdomen. Although it may appear to have one fin, there are actually three: an elongated dorsal fin, a caudal fin, and an anal fin. Moray eels move like swimming snakes, thanks to their wave-like movements they are able to cut through the water very quickly.

Photo. Second jaws of a moray eel

Moray eels are piscivores, meaning that they eat other fish (even small moray eels). Like some other fish-eating fish, moray eels have two jaws. They have regular jaws in their mouth, called oral jaws, and second jaws in the throat, called pharyngeal jaws. Unlike other fish with jaws, the second jaws of moray eels are very mobile. After the moray eel bites into food, the second jaw moves forward to grab the food inside the mouth and drag it down the throat to swallow it completely.

Thus, the caught fish has virtually no chance of salvation. Interestingly, while the existence of second jaws was fairly well known for a long time, the mechanism of ingestion of food by moray eels was only fully revealed only in 2007.

Divers who closely observed the moray eel might not notice that it has smooth skin. Moray eel skin cells secrete a protective mucous coating that protects them from infection and contact. Never touch a moray eel as this can damage its delicate defenses.

The covering of moray eels also serves other purposes. When buried in sand, they restore their protection by adhering grains of sand. In some species, the coating also affects their color. Green moray eels without their mucus appear brown, but the yellow color of their mucous membrane when combined with the color of their skin results in a shiny shade of green.

Moray eels can hunt alone or in groups. When moray eels hunt in groups, they do not team up with other moray eels, but do so with fish of other species. This type of hunting is known as "nuclear hunting" and is observed in several other fish species, such as flute fish and sea bass (Plectropomus pessuliferus). In Paul Humann and Ned DeLoach's book, Reef Fish Behavior, the nuclear hunting behavior of moray eels is described in detail:

Photo. Joint hunting of moray eels and sea bass

Video. Grouper and moray eel hunting together

“The moray eel almost always waits for the grouper to position itself next to its body before making a lunge. In any case, the fish contacts the moray eel by shaking its head in front of its head. The two animals appear to be cooperating during their next joint coral hunt, with the grouper able to block their escape route while the moray eel invades behind the dark curtain." One way or another, one of the animals gets food.

Photo. Shrimp cleaning the mouth of a moray eel

Known attacks of moray eels on humans

Moray eel took a bite out of the diver thumb
This happened in 2005 on the Similan Islands in Thailand. Matt Butcher, a dive instructor, worked aboard the Liveaboard MV Queen Scuba Similans as an underwater videographer. He had already made five or six dives among moray eels. A year or two ago, he first saw how these fish were fed. Matt regularly fed moray eels while diving. He wanted to get high quality pictures moray eel during its dive. Clients loved him when they watched the videos in the evenings, especially when the moray eel took food directly from Matt's hands. Matt usually took the sausages, mainly because they were left over from breakfast and wouldn't disintegrate under the water. Unfortunately, to Matt the sausages looked like fingers.

The next day, Matt sailed with his girlfriend Bex, who worked on the boat as a dive instructor. It was like any other day, but the anxiety level was high as they knew they were going to see the giant moray eel again. The first part of the dive was not interesting, and Matt and Bex hurried to the coral. Visibility was about twenty meters, Matt and Bex saw a moray eel swimming. It is normal for moray eels to emerge from crevices and investigate any divers that come close to their coral lair. Matt fed the moray eel several times, it returned to the coral and hid in it, leaving only its head sticking out. In order to persuade her to swim out again, Matt decided to feed her from his food bag. He gave the camera to Bex and signaled for her to film him feeding the moray eel. This was the first time Bex had ever held a camera underwater. Matt got confused several times when removing food from a plastic bag because the movement of the water made it difficult for him to find the hole to remove the sausage from it. Moray noticed a bag of food appear and swam very close to Matt, concentrating on finding the open end of the bag. Moray eel smelled food and was impatient.

Photo. Lurking moray eel

Photo. Moray eel takes a closer look

Initially, Matt simply felt some pressure on his left thumb and tried to pull his hand away. That’s when the moray eel stopped all the man’s efforts and grabbed onto his thumb better. All this happened very quickly. Matt knew he had to pull his thumb out of her mouth, but he wasn't prepared for what happened next. He looked at the moray eel attached to his arm as the blood began to create a blood cloud around him. He stuck two fingers right hand into her mouth and tried to open her jaw to get his thumb. She bit again and more blood came out into the ocean. Moray was not going to let go.

The moray sailed away and everything seemed calm... Matt looked down at his hand to see torn flesh and the bone of his thumb. The thumb has disappeared. Matt looked back towards the moray eel to see it swallow his thumb and return to its coral. Bex was wide-eyed and motionless. She couldn't believe what just happened. She was simply filming one of her best friends whose thumb was bitten off by a giant moray eel in front of her eyes.

Matt didn't panic and made a slow and controlled climb to the surface. At that moment, Claude from the Queen Scuba yacht was sailing past him with a group of divers. Matt showed Claude his hand and indicated that he had a problem. Claude smiled and continued his dive, thinking Matt was joking. As Matt rose to the surface, the water began to turn red. There was a lot of blood. But on the surface, blood sprayed 50 cm into the air. It looked like a fountain, as the tiny arteries were completely torn and open. Matt screamed loudly for the boat to take him away. The boat driver was horrified when he saw the extent of Matt's injury and the blood in the water. A compress was applied on the boat and the bleeding was largely stopped. After a quick stop on one of the islands, Matt and Bex were taken to the mainland by motorboat. A taxi was waiting at the pier to take them to a Bangkok hospital, and after a couple of hours of driving, Matt's arm was quickly operated on to close the wound.

Matt spent a week in hospital and racked up a fantastic bill. In addition, they paid for the evacuation from the Similan Islands. The total bill was about half a million baht (about $14,000).

Video. Moray eel bit off diver's finger

He was asked to have one of his toes amputated and transplanted onto his hand to replace the missing finger. All the nerves, tendons and blood vessels had to be connected and it would essentially be like a new thumb. It took five months. The operation was expensive.

Matt turned to the Divers Alert Network (DAN Europe) for insurance. A few days later they gave the go-ahead for the operation. They agreed to cover all expenses, which cost about six hundred thousand baht ($16.5 thousand).

A month after the operation, the graft took root and Matt returned to diving. It's worth noting that Matt no longer hates moray eels or any other marine life. He still dives in the same place sometimes and always keeps an eye on his old friend. He knows it was his stupid mistake and that he shouldn't have fed her. It was a painful way to learn a lesson...

Irish diver attacked by conger eel
year 2013. Jimmy Griffin, 48, a scuba diver from Galway, said of the attack in Killary: “Suddenly I got really swipe in face. I felt like a rag doll. He grabbed my face and started shaking it violently. He bit, pulled and circled around my face. I got a terrible feeling of numbness on the right side of my face. My regulator fell out and my vision started to get really blurry due to the blood in the water. The blood looked like octopus ink, very dark."

Photo. Sea eel

Photo. Conger eel bite wound

Photo. Stitches on a man's face after being bitten sea ​​eel

Galway bakery owner Jimmy had completed more than 200 dives and knew he had to remain calm in this situation. “I shouldn’t have panicked 25 meters underwater. My regulator (breathing apparatus) was knocked out of my mouth, so panic could lead to me drowning. When he finally let go, I saw that it was a conger eel larger than myself, over six feet long,” Jimmy recalled.

The good news for Griffin was that the plastic surgeons did a fantastic job. "I don't even know how many stitches I had inside and outside my mouth, but they say the scar will eventually be invisible," he said. He needed 20 stitches on his face.

A surfer was attacked by a moray eel in Hawaii.
October 17, 2015 33 year old local I was surfing on Waikiki Beach when I felt pain in my left leg. He reached the shore, where passers-by used a towel to stop the bleeding, and medical personnel arrived. Although a spokesman for the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources said he had never heard of a moray eel attack in the state, officials found no evidence of a shark attack and believe the man's injuries were consistent with a moray eel bite, not a shark bite.

Although moray eels frequently visit coral reefs in Hawaii, officials have not reached a concrete conclusion. At the same time, experts do not exclude other options, noting that barracudas were also recently spotted near Waikiki. Hours before the attack, another person was injured, although officials suspect a tiger shark may have been the culprit in this case. Witnesses reported that the 44-year-old man was swimming with a friend 50-100 meters from the shore when he was bitten. “Both legs just above the ankle were just hanging,” said one passerby. The man was taken to hospital in critical condition.

2010 documentary film “Moray Eels. Alien Empire"

Moray eel attacked scuba diver when he interfered with mating ritual
Underwater Polish photographer Bartosz Lukasik in February 2018 while diving on coral reef V South Africa was attacked by a large moray eel. He filmed the moment he was chased by a ravaged fish into Sodwana Bay.

He was filming two eels when one of them suddenly turned and chased him for almost 15 meters. He believes that he was attacked by a moray eel because his appearance interrupted the courtship and mating ritual, which undoubtedly angered one of the moray eels.

“Fortunately no one was hurt in this situation. I quickly swam away, the eel chased me for about 10-15 meters, but in the end everyone was ok. I, of course, did not expect such a situation and did not want to provoke him. I take great care not to interfere with sea ​​life“When I’m filming, I always try to keep enough distance so that both I and the subject feel comfortable,” Lukasik commented.

Video. Moray eel attacks diver

However, he was suspected of trying to promote another older recording from 2015; these recordings are completely identical. However, the video shows the very moment of the attack on the operator.