Mediterranean Moray
Muraena helena
42.5866, 18.2161
Field Notes
Description:
My third and luckiest encounter with this Moray-eel this summer - luckiest since this was the only time I managed to get some head and close-up shots - just look at that face! Here, I surprised it while foraging, and it immediately went in this defensive position in a shallow hole, exposing its teeth to alert me. This snake-like (or eel-like) fish was about 50cm long (in Adriatic sea it can grow up to 1,5m in length), and was mainly brown with dark yellow pattern, and grey-brown pointed head, with sharp teeth.
Habitat:
The Moray is nocturnal animal, and I believe this one just started its foraging in this late afternoon. All three times, I spotted them in the same area, on a rocky bottom close to popular beaches in a village of Dubrovnik riviera. The depth here is about 3m, but descending sharply down to 10m. The sea bottom here is rocky, creating many crevasses and tunnels, and rocks are abundantly covered in algae.
Notes:
The Moray-eel, locally known as 'Murina' does not have great reputation locally, and people are often afraid of it. This is probably with good reason, as the bite of the Mediterranean moray is reputed to be very painful, but can also be dangerous mainly due to toxic slime of its skin.
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