Species IUCN · Least Concern (LC)

Snowflake Moray

Echidna nebulosa, (Ahl, 1789)

marine

About Snowflake Moray

The snowflake moray (Echidna nebulosa), also known as the clouded moray among many vernacular names, is a species of marine eel of the family Muraenidae. It has blunt teeth ideal for its diet of crustaceans, a trait it shares with the zebra moray (Gymnomuraena zebra).

Its Hawaiian name is puhi-kapa, which originates from King Kamehameha I's nickname. The genus name is derived from the Greek word echidna meaning "viper", and the species name, nebulosa, originates from the Latin word nebulosus meaning "misty" or "cloudy".

It is widespread throughout the Indo-Pacific area from the eastern coast of Africa throughout Micronesia including the Red Sea and to Hawaii. The species is also found in the eastern Central Pacific from southern Baja California, Mexico, and from Costa Rica to northern Colombia.

This species reaches a length of 100 centimetres (39 in) but its common size is 50 centimetres (20 in). They live at depths ranging from 1 and 48 meters.

Appearance

The snowflake moray has a blunt white snout that goes into a yellowish, brown, and black striped speckled pattern. They have a dorsal fin that runs the length of its body. Protruding out of their snout, they have two yellow tubular nostrils angled down and another pair closer to their eyes. Moray eels' eyesight is poor, and their heightened sense of smell compensates for this. They have small blunt teeth rather than sharp teeth. Their diet consists mainly of crustaceans. The snowflake moray, along with other species of morays, have pharyngeal jaws, which are a second set of jaws located in the throat or pharynx. This species is an unconfirmed protogynous hermaphrodite, meaning that they are able to change sex during their lifetime. Snowflake morays are also scale-less, secreting a mucus over their skin that allows for easy maneuverability in and around holes in their environment.

Habitat

This species is distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific area from the eastern coast of Africa throughout Micronesia including the Red Sea and to Hawaii. It is also found in the eastern Central Pacific from southern Baja California, Mexico, and from Costa Rica to northern Colombia.

Where to see it

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