Moluccan Moray, Gymnothorax moluccensis (Bleeker 1864)

Other Names: Moluccan Moray Eel

A Moluccan Moray, Gymnothorax moluccensis, at Koh Phangan, Thailand, January 2014. Source: Chaloklum Diving, Thailand / https://www.chaloklum-diving.com/. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Summary:

A secretive uniformly tan-brownish moray covered in numerous inconspicuous white dots and no pale edges on the fins.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2020, Gymnothorax moluccensis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 14 Oct 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/5468

Moluccan Moray, Gymnothorax moluccensis (Bleeker 1864)

More Info

Distribution	Off the North West Shelf, Western Australia, depth 31-90 m. Elsewhere the species occurs in the tropical, Indo-west Pacific: confirmed from the Red Sea, Indonesia, Timor Leste and the Coral Sea. Inhabits coastal reefs in depths to 25 m.
Features	Body depth (at gill opening) about 17 in TL; preanal length 1.9-2.0 in TL; dorsal fin origin anterior to gill opening; anus distinctly posterior to middle of body; Large canine teeth absent; jaw teeth triangular and backward, conspicuously serrate on posterior edge; six intermaxillary teeth in outer row of each side, progressively larger posteriorly, and two in median line; 15 teeth in each side of upper jaw, decreasing in size posteriorly; 18 teeth on each side of lower jaw; small, conical vomerine teeth, biserial anteriorly, becoming uniserial posteriorly.
Remarks	Allen & Steene (1988) recorded this species form Christmas Island in the Eastern Indian Ocean. However, this record refers to Gymnothorax pindae.
Etymology	The species is named for the type locality: Ambon Island, Molucca Islands, Indonesia.
Species Citation	Priodonophis moluccensis Bleeker 1864, Nederlandsch Tijdschrift voor de Dierkunde 2: 48. Type locality: Ambon Island, Molucca Islands, Indonesia.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2020
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Moluccan Moray, Gymnothorax moluccensis (Bleeker 1864)

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. 1988. Fishes of Christmas Island Indian Ocean. Christmas Island : Christmas Island Natural History Association 197 pp. (misidientifaction of Gymnothorax pindae)

Bleeker, P. 1864. Poissons inédits indo-archipélagiques de l'ordre des murènes. Nederlandsch Tijdschrift voor de Dierkunde 2: 38-54 See ref at BHL

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.

Kuiter, R.H. & Tonozuka, T. 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 1. Eel s- Snappers, Muraenidae - Lutjanidae. Australia : Zoonetics pp. 1-302.

Smith, D.G., Bogorodsky, S.V., Mal, A.O. & Alpermann, T.J. 2019. Review of the moray eels (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) of the Red Sea, with description of a new species. Zootaxa 4704(1): 1-87. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4704.1.1

Smith, D.G., McCosker, J. & Tighe, K. 2019. Gymnothorax moluccensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T195758A2413821. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T195758A2413821.en. Downloaded on 07 June 2020.