Yellow-edged moray

Gelbgefleckte moray eel ( Gymnothorax flavimarginatus )

The Gelbgefleckte, yellow edge or Rußkopfmuräne ( Gymnothorax flavimarginatus ) lives in the Red Sea and tropical Indo-Pacific from South Africa to the Tuamotus and the Austral Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands and Hawaii, and south to New Caledonia. In the Maldives, it is often in Hawaii, the most common large moray eel. In the eastern Pacific, they occur on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama and the Galapagos Islands. It inhabits mainly coral -rich lagoons, reef flats, Outdoor and rocky reefs at depths up to 150 meters.

In some regions of the Indo-Pacific it is caught as a food fish. You can, however, contain the fish poison ciguatera.

Features

The Gelbgefleckte moray is 1.2 meters long. Their color is yellowish, with a variety of small, brownish speckles. The mouth is dark gray to purple ( Rußkopfmuräne ), the eye golden yellow, the black gill opening. The edge of the rear Flossensaums is bright yellow or green. Even young fish often show a shining yellow with brown spots. Gelbgefleckte morays have 129-137 vertebrae.

It is strongly built and can therefore easily with the giant moray ( Gymnothorax javanicus) are confused.

Way of life

Gelbgefleckte moray eels are usually loners. Occasionally they inhabit their shelter with conspecifics or other morays. They are mainly nocturnal, but also swim in the morning and in the evening around freely. Fish, cephalopods and crustaceans are among their prey. The reproductive biology of Gelbgefleckten moray is unknown.