Details
Rhinomuraena quaesita
The ribbon eel is a slender moray with a ribbon-like body and ornate nostril flaps. It waits with its head out of a burrow and strikes passing small fish.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It inhabits coral reefs and sandy-rubble coastal bottoms across the Pacific, the Indian Ocean. Individuals shelter in holes or crevices and may remain at one site for long periods.
Length 65-120 cm; weight 80 g-250 g. The very slender body may shift from black to blue and yellow with age. Leaflike nostril flaps and the habit of holding the mouth open make it distinctive.
Diurnal and solitary, it rarely exposes the whole body. It extends the front half from a hole and snaps at prey that comes within reach.
A carnivore, it takes small fishes and crustaceans. Its narrow body lets it work close to crevices where prey hides.
Breeding is rarely observed, but eggs and larvae drift in the sea as in other morays. Young eels later settle onto reef habitat.
It is listed as Least Concern, though local populations can still be affected by habitat change, collection, or pollution.
