Teleostei (teleosts) >
Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) >
Muraenidae (Moray eels) > Muraeninae
Etymology: Gymnothorax: Greek, gymnos = naked + Greek, thorax, -akos = breast (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Lacepède.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 110 m (Ref. 58302). Tropical; 32°N - 28°S
Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa, including Walters Shoal (Ref. 33390) and Persian Gulf (Ref. 68964) to French Polynesia, north to southern Japan and the Hawaiian Islands, south to the southern Great Barrier Reef. Eastern Central Pacific: Costa Rica and Panama (Ref. 9324).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 77 - ? cm
Max length : 150 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1602)
A common species on reef flats among rocks, rubble, or debris and also occurs in lagoons and seaward reefs to depths of 26 m or more. Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 86942. Cavernicolous (Ref. 8593, 58302). Benthic (Ref. 58302). Nocturnal species that feeds on fishes, octopi, and probably crustaceans. Reported to be an aggressive species and prone to bite. Used in Chinese medicine (Ref. 12166).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Chen, H.-M., K.-T. Shao and C.T. Chen, 1994. A review of the muraenid eels (Family Muraenidae) from Taiwan with descriptions of twelve new records. Zool. Stud. 33(1):44-64. (Ref. 6934)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 4690)
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 24.3 - 29, mean 28 °C (based on 1810 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00065 (0.00040 - 0.00104), b=3.28 (3.15 - 3.41), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.6 ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 20.2 [10.4, 35.7] mg/100g; Iron = 0.389 [0.227, 0.745] mg/100g; Protein = 18.9 [16.6, 21.4] %; Omega3 = 0.106 [0.047, 0.280] g/100g; Selenium = 59.2 [30.5, 113.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 41.7 [11.5, 148.7] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.03 [0.71, 1.46] mg/100g (wet weight);
