Mediterranean moray

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Mediterranean moray

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Muraenidae
Genus: Muraena
Species: M. helena
Binomial name
Muraena helena
Linnaeus, 1758

Mediterranean moray (sometimes also called Roman eel, Muraena helena) is a fish of the moray eel family. It has a long eel-like body and is found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean. Its bite can be dangerous to humans.

Contents

[edit] Appearance and characteristics

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

[edit] Systematics and phylogeny

Mediterranean moray belongs to the moray eel family and is closely related to Muraena augusti, and Muraena melanotis. [1]. The once described subspecies Muraena helena australis (Richardson, 1848) is now considered a separate species Muraena australis[2]

[edit] Ecology

Mediterranean moray inhabits the coastal waters of the Eastern Atlantic Ocean (from the British Isles to the coast of Senegal, additionally in the waters of Canary Islands and Azores) and Mediterranean. It prefers rocky bottom and lives in depth of 5 to 80 meters, and is a solitary and territorial species . Mediterranean moray spends most part of the day in cavities and clefts between rocks and is more active at night. It hunts fishes, crayfishes and cephalopods, but also feeds on dead animals.

Mediterranean morays' reproduction is not well known. They spawn about 60.000 eggs into open water, from which planktic transparent leptocephali hatch.

One parasitic crustacean[3], the trematode Folliculovarium mediterraneum[4] and digenean Lecithochirium grandiporum[5] are parasites of mediterranean moray.

[edit] Human importance

Its bite can be dangerous mainly due to mildly toxic slime of its skin. Utilized fresh and eaten broiled, boiled and baked. The skin can be used for leather[6].

[edit] References

  1. ^ González,J.A.et al. Morphological, Ecological, and Molecular Analyses Separate Muraena augusti from Muraena helena as a Valid Species, Copeia, Vol. 2007, Issue 1 (February 2007)
  2. ^ The Moray Eels of Australia and New Zealand, with the Description of Two New Species (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae)Records of the Australian Museum,(2001) Vol. 53: 71–102
  3. ^ P.Sasal et al.,Determinants of parasite species richness in Mediterranean marine fishes, Mar.Ecol.Prog.Ser. Vol. 149: 61-71. 1997
  4. ^ Bartoli,B et al.First report of a species of Folliculovarium Gu & Shen, 1983 (Bucephalidae: Prosorhynchinae) from European marine waters, with the description of F. mediterraneum n. sp. Systematic Parasitology, Vol 56, Number 2, Oct. 2003
  5. ^ P.Bartoli1, D.I.Gibson, The status of Lecithochirium grandiporum (Rudolphi, 1819) (Digenea: Hemiuridae), a rarely reported and poorly known species from the Mediterranean moray eel Muraena helena L. in the Western Mediterranean. Systematic Parasitology, Vol 68, 3 Nov. 2007
  6. ^ Muraena helena, Mediterranean moray: fisheries, aquarium