Moray eels are weird. They come in an crazy amount of shapes, sizes and colors, can look really goofy or really intimidating, and all have a variety of behaviors that often means the only thing they have in common is their lack of appendages.
But moray eels are as interesting as they are weird, so let’s learn 3 cool facts about moray eels!
Photo by Caribbean Reef Life
Green Morays are actually brown
Green morays are probably the most common moray we see on Roatan, mostly because they are often free swimming. Sinewy and unafraid, these magnificent animals will glide effortlessly along the reef, stopping occasionally to look into crevasses for food. However, untrue to its name, the true skin color of the green moray is brown. Green morays create a toxic mucus to cover their bodies to ward off predators, and this yellow tinted mucus combined with their brown skin is what gives them their green appearance.
2. Morays are not trying to threaten you
The most common gesture we see in all moray eels is them opening and closing their mouths. In smaller morays, it’s adorable. In larger morays, it’s intimidating, looking like their are gnawing, threatening us if we come closer. But this isn’t the case at all! Moray eels breathe through their gills, but water has to be constantly flowing through their gills to work. When moray eels aren’t moving forward, they still need to having the water flowing, so they “pump” the water through their gills by opening and closing their mouths. This doesn’t mean you should try to manhandle moray eels, though; always remember to practice responsible diving and give them (and all other marine species) a wide berth!
3. Hunting is better with friends!
If you’ve ever seen the green morays free swimming on Roatan, you’ll notice that they’re often not alone. Green morays will often partner with snappers or groupers for a hunt. Like hunting dogs, snappers and groups can point out prey for the green moray to get at, and the fish can close off one end of a crevasse while the moray eel goes in from the other side.
Bonus fact: Humans have created bad habits
Recently, you’ll hear more and more reports about green morays acting aggressive, even biting people. Unfortunately, this behavior was something created entirely by humans. Initially, when divers started spearfishing for lionfish in the Americas, they fed them to morays, snappers and groupers in an effort to encourage these animals to hunt for the invasive lionfish themselves. The feeding did not have the desired effect, instead causing aggressive behavior in these animals towards divers, especially divers with spears. While marine reserves everywhere are trying to rectify this wrong, it’s still important to treat morays, snappers and groupers respectfully, but also be prepared to dump your lionfish loot and run if necessary.
Were there any facts that you didn’t know before this post? Are there other animals you’d like to learn cool facts about? Let us know here or on our Facebook page!
