Banded Moray, Gymnothorax rueppellii (McClelland 1844)
Other Names: Banded Reef-eel, Yellow-headed Moray
A Banded moray, Gymnothorax rueppellii, at Bua, Fiji, November 2016. Source: Mark Rosenstein / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Summary:
A pale grey to greyish-brown moray with a 16-21 dark bars on the body and fins that become indistinct with growth, top of the head yellow and a dark spot at the corner of the mouth.
Video of a battle between a Banded Moray and Giant Moray
Video of a battle between a Banded Moray and Giant Moray
Cite this page as:
Dianne J. Bray, Gymnothorax rueppellii in Fishes of Australia, accessed 17 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/3817
Banded Moray, Gymnothorax rueppellii (McClelland 1844)
More Info
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Distribution |
Recorded in the Australian EEZ from off Karratha, Western Australia, and from the northern Great Barrier Reef to southern Queensland; also at Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean. The species occurs elsewhere in the Red Sea and Indo-West Pacific. Usually shelters in crevices during the day, and often seen hunting out in the open at night. |
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Feeding |
Carnivore - mostly a nocturnal predator, feeding on fishes and crustaceans. |
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Species Citation |
Dalophis rueppelliae McClelland, 1844, J. Nat. Hist. Calcutta 5(18): 213. (as D. rüppelliae). Type locality: Red Sea. |
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Author |
Dianne J. Bray |
Banded Moray, Gymnothorax rueppellii (McClelland 1844)
References
Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls.
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp.
Allen, G.R., Steene, R.C. & Orchard, M. 2007. Fishes of Christmas Island. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 2 edn, 284 pp.
Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21.
Böhlke, E.B., McCosker, J.E. & Smith, D.G. 1999. Family Muraenidae. pp. 1643-1657 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 3 pp. 1397-2068.
Böhlke, E.B. & McCosker, J.E. 2001. The moray eels of Australia and New Zealand, with the description of two new species (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae). Records of the Australian Museum 53: 71-102 figs 1-10
Böhlke, E.B. & Smith, D.G. 2002. Type catalogue of Indo-Pacific Muraenidae. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 152: 89-172.
Castle, P. H. J. & McCosker, J. E. 1986. Family No. 41: Muraenidae. pp. 165-176 in Smith, M.M. & Heemstra, P.C. (eds). Smith's Sea Fishes. Johannesburg : Macmillan South Africa xx + 1047 pp. 144 pls.
Chen, H.-M., K.-T. Shao & C.T. Chen, 1994. A review of the muraenid eels (Family Muraenidae) from Taiwan with descriptions of twelve new records. Zoological Studies 33(1): 44-64.
Hutchins, J.B. 2001. Checklist of the fishes of Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 63: 9-50.
McClelland, J. 1844. Apodal fishes of Bengal. Journal of Natural History. Calcutta 5(18): 151-226 pls 5-14
McCosker, J.E. & Randal, J.E. 1982. Synonymies of Indian Ocean eels, with the description of Gymnothorax enigmaticus, a moray previously known as G. ruppeli. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 4 43(2): 17-24.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.
