Teleostei (teleosts) >
Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) >
Muraenidae (Moray eels) > Muraeninae
Etymology: Gymnothorax: Greek, gymnos = naked + Greek, thorax, -akos = breast (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Captain John Melmoth Dow (1827–1892) was an American naturalist and explorer, in addition to being a ship’s master and shipping agent. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Günther.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 3 - 36 m (Ref. 5227). Tropical; 10°N - 2°S
Eastern Pacific: Costa Rica to Colombia, including the Galapagos Islands. Also in the Gulf of California (Ref. 35581).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 170 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5227)
Benthic between rocks and on sand and mud substrates. Lurks in holes, crevices and dark recesses. Constantly opens and closes its mouth--an action required for respiration, not a threat (Ref. 5227).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
McCosker, J.E. and R.H. Rosenblatt, 1995. Muraenidae. Morenas. p. 1303-1315. In W. Fischer, F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) Guia FAO para Identification de Especies para lo Fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. 3 Vols. FAO, Rome. (Ref. 9324)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 24.6 - 28.6, mean 27.4 °C (based on 16 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00048 (0.00025 - 0.00091), b=3.28 (3.12 - 3.44), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.2 ±0.7 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
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 = 19.9 [10.1, 33.3] mg/100g; Iron = 0.376 [0.215, 0.867] mg/100g; Protein = 18.9 [16.6, 21.4] %; Omega3 = 0.0888 [, ] g/100g; Selenium = 50.7 [25.9, 101.1] μg/100g; VitaminA = 45.8 [12.4, 160.4] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.822 [0.571, 1.177] mg/100g (wet weight);
