Mediterranean Moray

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), and the mouth is long and robust and reaches behind the gills.

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 at depths between 1 and 801 metres with the 100–300 m range the most common habitat. 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, crabs and cephalopods, but also feeds on dead animals.

Sex and maturity is determined by visual observations of the gonads. Mature females have large orange eggs, while mature males have white and large testes. Mediterranean eels found in the Adriatic Sea mature in the warmer months, and then give birth in the summer. The colder months is their resting period. They spawn about 60,000 eggs into open water, from which planktonic transparent leptocephali hatch.

The act of reproduction for eels is widely unknown, as it has never been observed in the wild. Mediterranean eels are no different, however, it is confirmed that eels reproduce by external fertilization.

Historic evidence of human consumption of Mediterranean morays dates to the Middle Pleistocene during the Last Interglacial, where the Neanderthal site at Gruta da Figueira Brava, Portugal, shows evidence of recurring capture and eating of morays alongside other eel species such as European eels and European congers.

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.