Starry Moray, Echidna nebulosa (Ahl 1789)


Other Names: Bosch's Reef-eel, Clouded Eel, Clouded Moray, Clouded Reef Eel, Snowflake Moray, Starry Eel

A Starry Moray, Echidna nebulosa, at South West Rocks, New South Wales, April 2013. Source: Sascha Schultz / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:
A pale moray covered in dark speckles, with two rows of large dendritic black blotches that often enclose irregular yellow spots, a yellow iris and nostrils, and a white snout. The black speckles and spots between the blotches become irregularly linear with age.

Cite this page as:
Echidna nebulosa in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3089

Starry Moray, Echidna nebulosa (Ahl 1789)

More Info


Distribution

Ningaloo Reef to the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia, Ashmore Reef, and Cartier Island in the Timor Sea, and the far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, and reefs in the Coral Sea, to Diggers Camp, New South Wales; also Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean, and the Lord Howe Province and Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species is widespread and abundant in the tropical, Indo-Pacific.
Inhabits intertidal reef flats, lagoons and seaward reefs, often between rocks and corals.

Feeding

Feed on crustaceans and sometimes smaller fishes.

Species Citation

Muraena nebulosa Ahl 1789. Specimen ichthyologicum de Muraena et Ophichtho: 7, pl. 1(right fig.). Type locality: East Indies.

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Starry Moray, Echidna nebulosa (Ahl 1789)

References


Ahl, J.N. 1789. Specimen ichthyologicum de Muraena et Ophichtho. Inaug. Dissert. Uppsala 14 pp. 2 pls. 

Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls. 

Allen, G.R. 2000. Fishes of the Montebello Islands. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 59: 47-57 

Allen, G.R., Hoese, D.F., Paxton, J.R., Randall, J.E., Russell, B.C., Starck, W.A., Talbot, F.H. & Whitley, G.P. 1976. Annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Records of the Australian Museum 30(15): 365-454 figs 1-2 

Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp. 

Allen, G.R. & Smith-Vaniz, W.F. 1994. Fishes of Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 412: 1-21 

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. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls. 

Bleeker, P. 1853. Bijdrage tot de kennis der Muraenoïden en Symbranchoïden van den Indischen Archipel. Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen 25: 1-76 

Bleeker, P. 1864. Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néerlandaises, publié sous les auspices du Gouvernement colonial néerlandais. Tome 4. Murènes, Symbranches, Leptocéphales. Amsterdam : Fréd. Müller 132 pp. pls 145-193. 

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 

Choat, J.H., van Herwerden, L., Robbins, W.D., Hobbs, J.P. & Ayling, A.M. 2006. A report on the ecological surveys undertaken at Middleton and Elizabeth Reefs, February 2006. Report by James Cook University to the Department of the Environment and Heritage. 65 pp. 

Fowler, H.W. 1900. Contributions to the ichthyology of the tropical Pacific. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 52: 493-528 

Francis, M. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170 figs 1-2 

Gmelin, J.F. 1789. Pisces. pp. 1126-1516 in Linnaeus, C. (ed.). Systema Naturae. Leiden : Delamollière Vol. 1 Pt 3. 

Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S.J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Checklist and new records of Christmas Island fishes: the influence of isolation, biogeography and habitat availability on species abundance and community composition. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 184–202 

Hobbs, J-P.A., Newman, S .J., Mitsopoulos, G.E.A., Travers, M.J., Skepper, C.L., Gilligan, J.J., Allen, G.R., Choat, H.J. & Ayling, A.M. 2014. Fishes of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands: new records, community composition and biogeographic significance. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 30: 203–219 

Hutchins, J.B. 2003. Checklist of marine fishes of the Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia. pp. 453-478 in Wells, F.E., Walker, D.I., & Jones, D.S. (eds). Proceedings of the Eleventh International Marine Biological Workshop: The Marine Flora and Fauna of Dampier, Western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum. 

Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3) 

Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp. 

Miller, T.J. 1989. Feeding behavior of Echidna nebulosa, Enchelycore pardalis, and Gymnomuraena zebra (Teleostei: Muraenidae). Copeia 1989: 662-672.

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. 

Richardson, J. 1848. Ichthyology. 75-139 pls 42-43 & 44 (parts), 45-52, 53 in Richardson, J. & Gray, J.E. (eds). The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror under the Command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, R.N., F.R.S., during the years 1839–43. London : Smith, Elder & Co. Vol. 2 139 pp. 

Smith, D.G., Tighe, K. & McCosker, J. 2019. Echidna nebulosa. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T195683A2401897. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T195683A2401897.en. Downloaded on 17 November 2021.

Whitley, G.P. 1946. Australian marine eels. Australian Museum Magazine 9(2): 60-65 11 figs

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37060023

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Depth:1-50 m

Fishing:Aquarium fish

Habitat:Reef associated

Max Size:100 cm TL

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CAAB distribution map