Mediterranean moray facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mediterranean moray
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Synonyms
List Muraenophis helena (Linnaeus, 1758) Muraena helaena Linnaeus, 1758 (misspelling) Gymnothorax muraena Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Muraena romana Shaw, 1803 Muraena punctata Rafinesque, 1810 Muraena variegata Rafinesque, 1810 Muraenophis fulva Risso, 1810 Muraena guttata Risso, 1827 Limamuraena guttata (Risso, 1827) Muraena helena australiae Richardson, 1848 Muraena australiae Richardson, 1848 Thyrsoidea atlantica Johnson, 1862 Muraena vorax Ogilby, 1907 Muraena bettencourti Osório, 1911 Muraenophis bettencourti (Osório, 1911) Murenophis bettencourti (Osório, 1911)

The Mediterranean moray (Muraena helena), also known as Roman eel, is a species of fish in the moray eel family. It has a long eel-like body and is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Its bite can be dangerous to humans.

Appearance and characteristics

Muraena helena showing typical moray eel morphology: robust anguilliform shape, lack of pectoral fins and circular gill openings

The Mediterranean moray has an elongated, eel-like body and can reach a length of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) and weigh over 15 kilograms. Its coloration varies from dark grey to dark brown with fine dark spots. The skin is slimy and without scales. The dorsal fin begins behind its head and continues to the caudal fin (fused with the anal fin). Pectoral fins are absent, teeth are long and sharp-pointed (like other morays), the mouth is long and robust and reaches behind the gills.

Ecology

Captured morays on fish market in Madeira

The Mediterranean moray inhabits the coastal waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the British Isles to the coast of Senegal; the waters of the Canary Islands and the Azores; and the Mediterranean Sea. It prefers rocky bottoms and lives in depths of from 16.5 to 264 feet (5 to 80 meters). It is a solitary and territorial species. The Mediterranean moray spends most of the day in cavities and clefts between rocks and is more active at night. It hunts fish, crayfish and cephalopods, but also feeds on dead animals.

The Mediterranean moray's reproduction is not well known. They spawn about 60,000 eggs into open water, from which planktonic transparent leptocephali hatch.

One parasitic crustacean, the trematode Folliculovarium mediterraneum and the flatworm Lecithochirium grandiporum are parasites of the Mediterranean moray.

Human importance

The bite of the Mediterranean moray can be dangerous mainly due to the mildly toxic slime of its skin. It can be utilized fresh and eaten broiled, boiled and baked. The skin can be used for leather.