El Residente
34 Wild Side by Ryan Piercy
Moray Eels
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oasting around 200 of the 800 species of eels globally, it is unsurprising that Costa Rican waters are home to many of the varieties of the moray eel family. The moray is often mistaken for a sea snake when, in fact, it is a fish. Perhaps the confusion is aided by their long serpentine bodies which lack the pectoral and pelvic fins ones expects to find on a fish; their dorsal fin extends from just behind the head along the back and joins seamlessly with the caudal and anal fins. And, some varieties sport highly decorative markings, as one often expects from snakes. Most possess large teeth used to tear flesh or grasp slippery prey. A relatively small number of species feed on crustaceans and other hard-shelled animals; they have blunt, molar-like teeth suitable for crushing. The eel’s small, circular gills are located on their flanks, well back from the mouth. Some of the more common moray eels, or morenas, that you may encounter diving here include the Abbotts
moray, Panamic green moray, spotted moray, tiger snake moray, yellow-edged, and zebra morays. The tiger snake and the zebra morays both have appearances that are extremely obvious; one with defined black and white stripes along its length, the other with small black spots interspersed between larger tiger-like spots on its yellowish body. Like most eels, many morays live in shallow waters, sometimes amongst rocks and reefs or burrowing into the sand, normally emerging at night to feed. They are opportunistic predators that feed on small fish, crustaceans, and octopus, and are often apex predators within their ecosystem because there are few other species that prey on them, excepting humans of course, who trade them for use as food or aquarium fish.
Though morays can occupy both fresh and saltwater, as well as tropical and temperate waters, the majority inhabit warm saltwater regions such as those located
