EEL-SPOTTING: FORAYS WITH MORAYS (7)

December 9, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

EEL-SPOTTING: FORAYS WITH MORAYS (7)

MORAY EELS are plentiful around the reefs of the Bahamas. Some species, anyway. The ones you are most likely to encounter are green morays, and the spotted morays shown here. Less common are chain and golden-tail morays and, rarer still I suspect (because I have only one image in the archive…) is the ‘purple-mouth’.

Despite their moderately intimidating appearance – an adult may grow to 1.5 meters or more, with sharp teeth at the front end – these eels are not especially aggressive unless provoked. Best to assume that all humans will behave respectfully around them and remember that people are the intruders in the eels’ domain.

Morays tend to be loners of the reefs, but they do gather in groups from time to time. And as shown below, they will also hunt with other species, for example this tiger grouper.

Sharp-eyed, sharp-toothed

Looks friendly enough…

A long and surprisingly large body, generally concealed in the crevices of the reef

Credits: Melinda Riger / Grand Bahama Scuba

Lurkin’ Good

FORAYS WITH MORAYS (6): WELL SPOTTED…

January 21, 2019 by Rolling Harbour

FORAYS WITH MORAYS (6): WELL SPOTTED…

I was always taught ‘keep your mind open and your mouth closed’. Bad advice. Such bad advice. The worst. So many reasons to be exactly the opposite in these troubled times…

Spotted Moray eels Gymnothorax moringa, however, seem to have their own rules to live by. They appear to be open-minded and fairly sensible creatures around the reef. They tend to keep themselves to themselves, hanging out unassumingly in holes and crevices in the coral.

They do tend to stick their necks out a bit, but unless provoked (see below) they seem to be reasonably amiable (except maybe to the small fish and crustaceans that make up their diet).

They do keep their mouths open a lot, though. And as you can see, they have sharp-looking teeth that you mightn’t want too near to you. I say that because their bite can be dangerous and should be avoided. To start with, the teeth are slightly backward-facing, so that when they bite there is a ‘pull-back’ effect when you react (not unlike a barb on a fish hook). They are not aggressive as such, but they know how to deal with unwanted interference in their lives…

Apart from the unpleasant bite and associated pain that moray eels can inflict in defence, they are also poisonous (as opposed to venomous). Specifically they can release toxins into the wound; and in some species their skin contains toxins as well**. Serious infection may result.

CAN YOU GIVE THE POISONOUS / VENOMOUS DISTINCTION AGAIN

I could, but ace natural history cartoonist Rosemary Mosco makes a better job than I can:

**Before I leave the topic, maybe I ought to mention one bit of research I have just come across at Dove Med, from which I take away the message that you definitely don’t want to annoy a moray eel or get bitten by one. Ever. They are fine and interesting denizens of the reef, to be admired from a respectful distance…

Photo credits: all amazing photos courtesy of Melinda Riger, Grand Bahama Scuba; cute yet educative cartoon by Rosemary Mosco. Check out her website HERE – and birders, she v good on your specialist subject…

FORAYS WITH MORAYS (4): EXPRESSIVE FEATURES

March 10, 2017 by Rolling Harbour

FORAYS WITH MORAYS (4): EXPRESSIVE FEATURES

Time to return to those extremely expressive characters of the coral reefs, moray eels. Specifically, some green morays. One hesitates to anthropomorphise or ‘project’ human emotions onto creatures but with some species it’s hard not to do so. Following Mr Grumpy (or perhaps Mr Sad) in the header image, here are some close-ups of morays appearing to express their emotions, from happy to downright furious… Eels featured here include Judy and Wasabi, and I remind myself that the human habit of naming familiar wild creatures is itself a (perfectly harmless) form of benign animism. Exactly as with the regular banded piping plovers featured elsewhere in this blog that overwinter on Abaco’s beaches, such as Harry Potter, Bahama Mama and the delightfully-named Felicia Fancybottom…

Happy and contented?