Teleostei (teleosts) >
Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) >
Muraenidae (Moray eels) > Muraeninae
Etymology: Gymnothorax: Greek, gymnos = naked + Greek, thorax, -akos = breast (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Bleeker.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 45 m (Ref. 11441), usually ? - 5 m. Tropical
Indo-Pacific: South Africa and Oman to the Hawaiian and Society islands, north to the Ryukyu and Ogasawara islands, south to northern Australia and the Loyalty Islands.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2334)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0; Vertebrae: 121 - 133. Body light brown, with dendritic pattern. Corner of mouth with a dark brown spot, preceded on lower lip by a large white blotch (often followed by another above and behind corner of mouth); upper and lower jaw pores usually in prominent white spots. Vertebrae 121-133.
Occurs in shallow coastal reef flats, usually found in less than 5 m water depth, but ranges to deep water rubble reefs (Ref. 48635). Benthic (Ref. 58302). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 86942.
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
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00054 (0.00036 - 0.00081), b=3.24 (3.12 - 3.36), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.9 ±0.6 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100).