Details
Gymnomuraena zebra
The zebra moray is a striped reef eel of the Indian and Pacific oceans. Active across day and night, it lives from rock cracks and reef shelters.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It uses coral reefs, rocky reefs, lagoons, and shallow bottoms full of crevices. Shelters with crabs, shrimp, and mollusks nearby are important.
Length is about 50-150 cm and weight about 500-5000 g. The brown body is densely crossed by pale narrow bands, with a rounded head and strong teeth.
It lives singly or loosely spaced in holes and emerges most in dim light or at night. It probes crevices more than it cruises in open water.
It is carnivorous, eating many hard-shelled crabs, shrimp, and mollusks. Blunt teeth help crush shells.
Eggs are released into the sea, and transparent larvae drift before settlement. Young later take up bottom life in reef shelter.
Its status is listed as Least Concern. The pattern makes it memorable, but wild fish depend on reef crevices and benthic invertebrate prey.
