This huge scary fish is very reminiscent of a snake, and not only with the outlines of an elongated body. Like all eels, the moray eel swims and crawls like a true snake, noticeably bending its body.

Description of the moray eel

Small eyes, a constantly open mouth, sharp curved teeth, a serpentine body without scales - this is a typical moray eel from the moray eel family, included in the genus of ray-finned fish. Moray eels are not small: representatives of the smallest species grow up to 0.6 m with a weight of 8–10 kg, while giant moray eels grow up to almost 4 meters with a weight of 40 kg.

Appearance

Few people managed to see the moray eels in full height, since during the day it almost completely climbs into a rocky crevice, leaving only the head outside. It seems to rare observers that the moray eel is grinning angrily: this impression is created due to the prickly look and constantly open mouth with large pointed teeth.

In reality, the muzzle of the moray eel embodies not so much hidden aggression as the innate instinct of an ambush predator - in anticipation of the victim, the moray eel practically freezes, but never closes its mouth.

Interesting. It has been suggested that the moray eel cannot close its mouth, as this is prevented by giant teeth. In fact, this is how the fish gets the oxygen it needs by passing water through its mouth and pumping it through the gills.

Moray eels do not have many teeth (23–28), forming one row and slightly curved back. Those species that mainly prey on crustaceans are armed with less sharp teeth adapted for crushing shells.

Moray eels have no tongue, but nature made up for this shortcoming by rewarding them with two pairs of nostrils resembling small tubes. Moray eels (like other fish) need nostrils not to breathe, but to smell. The moray eel's excellent sense of smell to some extent compensates for the capabilities of its weak visual apparatus.

Someone compares moray eels with snakes, someone with fantastic leeches: everything is to blame for the disproportionately elongated and laterally flattened torso. The resemblance to a leech arises from the thin tail, which contrasts with the thickened muzzle and front of the body.

Moray eels do not have pectoral fins, but the dorsal fin stretches along the entire ridge. The thick smooth skin is devoid of scales and painted in camouflage colors that echo the surrounding landscape.

The most popular shades and patterns of moray eels:

  • black;
  • grey;
  • brown;
  • white;
  • finely speckled pattern (polka dots, "marble", stripes and asymmetric spots).

Since the moray eel does not close its impressive mouth in ambush, the inner surface of the latter must match the color of the body so as not to violate the general disguise.

Types of moray eels

So far, different sources provide conflicting data on moray eel species. The most commonly mentioned figure is 200, while the genus Muraena consists of only 10 species. The list includes:

  • muraena appendiculata;
  • muraena argus;
  • muraena augusti;
  • muraena clepsydra;
  • muraena helena (European moray);
  • muraena lentiginosa;
  • muraena melanotis;
  • muraena pavonina;
  • muraena retifera;
  • muraena robusta.

Where did the number 200 come from? Approximately as many species are included in the family Muraenidae (Mourenovye), which is part of the eel-like order. This extensive family consists of two subfamilies (Muraeninae and Uropterygiinae), 15 genera and 85–206 species.

In turn, the subfamily Muraeninae includes the genus Murena, which includes 10 listed species. By by and large, even the giant moray eel has an indirect relationship to the genus Muraena: it belongs to the Moray family, but is a representative of another genus - Gymnothorax. No wonder the giant moray eel is also called the Javanese hymnothorax.

Character and behavior

There are a lot of speculations around snake-like fish that do not stand up to scrutiny upon close examination. The moray eel will not attack first if it is not provoked, teased and not shown intrusive attention (which inexperienced divers often sin).

Of course, hand-feeding a moray eel is a spectacular sight, but at the same time extremely dangerous (as happens with careless handling of any wild predator). A disturbed fish will not stand on ceremony and can injure quite noticeably. Sometimes spontaneous aggression of moray eels is provoked not only by fear, but also by trauma, physiological state or malaise.

Even hitting a hook or harpoon, the moray eel will defend itself until its strength runs out. At first, she will try to hide in a crevice, dragging an underwater hunter behind her, but if the maneuver fails, she will begin to wriggle on land, crawl to the sea, fight and snap her teeth uncompromisingly.

Attention. Having bitten, the moray eel does not let go of the victim, but clings to it with a death grip (as a pit bull does) and shakes its jaw, which leads to the appearance of deep lacerations.

Few people managed to escape from the sharp teeth of the moray eels on their own, without resorting to outside help. The bite of this predatory fish is extremely painful, and the wound heals for a very long time (up to death).

By the way, it was the latter circumstance that led ichthyologists to the idea of ​​the presence of poison in the dental canals of moray eels, in particular, ciguatoxin. But after a series of studies, moray eels were rehabilitated, recognizing that they do not have poisonous glands.

Slow healing of lacerations is now attributed to the action of bacteria that multiply on the remnants of food in the mouth: these microorganisms infect wounds.

Image and life expectancy

Moray eels - recognized loners respecting the principle of territoriality. Sometimes they are closely adjacent to each other, but only because of the tight fit of convenient crevices. There they sit all day long, occasionally changing position, but leaving monstrous heads outside. Most species are active at night, but there are exceptions that catch prey during daylight hours, usually in shallow water.

In tracking the victim, they have little help from sight, but mainly from an excellent sense of smell. If the nasal openings become clogged, it becomes a real disaster.

The teeth of many moray eels are located on two pairs of jaws, one of which is retractable: it sits deep in the throat and “rolls out” at the right moment to grab the victim and drag it into the esophagus. Such a design oral apparatus due to the narrowness of the holes: moray eels cannot (like other underwater predators) fully open their mouths in order to immediately pull the prey inside.

Important. Moray eels have almost no natural enemies. Two circumstances contribute to this - her sharp teeth and the strength with which she clings to the enemy, as well as her constant stay in natural shelters.

A free-swimming predator is rarely attacked by more than big fish, but always quickly hides in the nearest rock gap. They say that certain types they leave their pursuers, crawling away like snakes on land. It is also necessary to switch to a land-based mode of transportation during low tides.

No one has yet measured the life span of moray eels, but it is believed that most of the species live up to 10 years or more.

Range, habitats of moray eels

Moray eels are inhabitants of the seas and oceans, preferring salty warm waters. The amazing species diversity of these fish is noted in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. A lot of moray eels have chosen the water expanses of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans (separate areas), as well as the Mediterranean Sea.

Moray eels, like many eel-like fish, rarely go deep, choosing rocky shallow waters and coral reefs with a depth of no more than 40 m. Moray eels spend almost their entire lives in natural shelters, such as internal cavities of large sponges, rock crevices and coral thickets.

Diet, what does the moray eel eat

A moray eel sitting in ambush lures a potential victim with nasal tubes (similar to annelids), moving them. A fish that is sure to have noticed sea ​​worms, swims closer and gets into the teeth of the moray eel, grabbing her with a lightning throw.

The diet of moray eels is made up of almost all digestible marine life:

For catching big booty(for example, octopuses), as well as for cutting it, moray eels use a special technique, the main tool of which is the tail. The moray eel wraps it around a tightly seated stone, ties it into a knot and begins to contract the muscles, moving the knot towards the head: the pressure in the jaws increases, which allows the predator to easily pull out pieces of pulp from the victim.

Moray fish belongs to the class of ray-finned fish. All moray eels are combined into a genus, which consists of 12 species. They live in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans, are the original inhabitants of the Mediterranean and Red Seas. These live predatory fish in coastal waters and are most often found near underwater rocks and on coral reefs. They like to relax in underwater caves and other natural shelters.

What is remarkable about these sea ​​fish? Appearance they look like eels. The body is long, the skin is smooth without scales and has a variety of color shades. It is mostly brown with large yellow spots, in which there are small dark spots. In most species, from the head along the back stretches long fin. All species lack pectoral and ventral fins.

The mouth is wide and the jaws are extremely strong. They are armed with sharp teeth, with the help of which not only prey is captured, but also serious, and sometimes very dangerous wounds are inflicted. By their nature, moray eels are aggressive, and therefore they are a danger to people. Fishermen are wary of them.

The bite of this marine predator is very painful. Having bitten, the fish can cling tightly to the bite site, and it is very difficult to unhook it. The consequences of such a bite are very unpleasant, since the mucus of the moray eel fish contains substances that are toxic to humans. The inflicted wound heals for a very long time, it hurts, festers and, accordingly, causes discomfort. There have even been cases when the bite of this fish caused a fatal outcome.

The situation is further aggravated by the fact that representatives of the genus have an additional pharyngeal jaw in the pharynx. It is movable and can move forward to help the main jaw hold prey. Therefore, it is understandable why it is extremely difficult to unhook a predator clinging to the skin. A bitten person opens the main jaws, but the fish still does not unhook, as this is prevented by the pharyngeal jaw.

In length, representatives of the species grow up to one and a half meters, and the weight of individual individuals can be about 40 kg. But for the most part, these fish do not exceed 1 meter in length and weigh 15 kg. However, such modest figures do not detract from their danger to people. Even a small moray eel fish can inflict serious and deep wounds that will heal for a very long time.

In ancient Roman times, these fish were considered a delicacy. They were bred in special ponds and large aquariums. Served at the table on major holidays. Moreover, they were mostly eaten by rich people, since the poor could not afford to breed moray eels. themselves marine predators eat small fish. It is their main diet. The abundance of this genus according to the IUCN classification ( international union conservation) is of least concern.

During the hunt, demonstrating the incredible flexibility of her subtle body. This article is devoted to moray eels, which are made very similar to snakes not only by the shape, but also by the poisonousness of some of them.

About two hundred species of these unique inhabitants of the seas are known, which scientists have combined into a family with a scientific name - Muraenidae (Moray). These are the closest relatives of eels, as they belong to the order Anguilliformes.

Aggressive and poisonous

Representatives of the Murenovs are well known to people since ancient times and have the glory of aggressive and poisonous living creatures. All species are quite large: from 60 centimeters to almost 4 meters. Characteristic features of appearance:

  • The body is very long and slightly flattened from the sides, thinner in the back, and thicker in the middle and in the front.
  • There are no pectoral fins, and the dorsal fin is very long, and stretches along the entire back.
  • The muzzle is slightly elongated with small eyes and a large, almost always wide open mouth filled with sharp teeth.

Open mouth and fixed eyes

In the photo of the moray fish, a huge wide-open mouth with sharp teeth is clearly visible. These predators do not have so many teeth (less than three dozen), they are located in one row and are slightly bent back.

However, in crustacean-eating species, the teeth are not very sharp and allow them to crush the strong shells of crabs. It was believed that these fish keep their mouth constantly open because of their very large teeth. The reason is different: the need to continuously pump water through the mouth, because being in shelter most of the time, the moray eel does not have a constant flow of fresh water to the gills.

With a long stay in ambush in anticipation of prey, the seemingly malicious frozen look of the eyes is also associated.

Other features of appearance and color of moray eels

The moray eel fish does not have scales, and the skin is smooth and thick, covered with mucus. Thanks to the mucus, fish easily penetrate into various minks and crevices that they use as a home. During the hunt, the mucus allows the predator to jump out of the shelter very quickly and attack the gaping prey.

The gill slits are strongly shifted backwards and look like small oval holes, this feature is clearly visible in the photo of moray eels. Some species have a dark spot on the gill opening.

Of the four nasal openings, one pair has the appearance of rather long nostrils in the form of tubes or leaflets. A video of a moray eel made at the Coex Aquarium (Seoul) makes it possible to see the yellow tubes of the nostrils of a snow moray.

What color are moray eels

The color of the skin of moray eels is often camouflage, corresponding to the surrounding conditions: darkish brown, grayish shades, often motley with spots; some species may be solid or even striped, which is a rare exception (see below the video of zebra moray eels).

The bright color, which is not characteristic of moray eels, distinguishes the ribbon rhinomuraena (Rhinomuraena quaesita), which, due to its color changing throughout life, has several more names: blue ribbon eel, black-striped eel and blue-striped eel. The word "eel" in this context means only that it is a close relative of eels and belongs to the eel-like order.

Color-changing and gender-changing rhinomurena

Band moray eel ( Rhinomuraena quaesita) as well as (amphiprions) is a protandric hermaphrodite. This means that young individuals are all males, then when they reach a body length of more than 85 centimeters, they become females.

As the moray eels of this species grow up, their color changes three times:

  • The skin of juveniles is richly black in color and has a bright yellow dorsal fin.
  • Having reached sixty centimeters in length, the young turn into bright blue males, their jaws are painted yellow.
  • In males with a body length of 85 centimeters, a sex change occurs, they become females and the color of the body gradually turns from blue to yellow. The females of the ribbon rhinomurena are yellow.

Regardless of its color and sexual condition (juvenile, male or female), the ribbon moray eel can claim the status of the most elegant among moray eels: its body is thin and long, resembling a ribbon.

The graceful image is completed by an elongated pointed muzzle with wide fan-shaped lobes above the upper jaw. These blades are modified nostrils, thanks to which Rhinomuraena quaesita has another name - nosed moray eel.

These live amazing fish in the warm waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans: among coral reefs, in shallow lagoons, the bottom of which is covered with silt or sand. They can completely dig into the sand, and only the head with wide characteristic nostrils remains visible from the outside. Almost all the time, rhinomurens hide in shelters, which are cracks, voids among stones, caves in the reef.

Their diet consists almost entirely of small fish. They lure prey with smooth movements of skin outgrowths present at the tip of the lower jaw. They can also eat crustaceans, but rarely.

Environment and lifestyle

Moray eels are exclusively marine inhabitants living in warm waters. The greatest species diversity of these unique fish is found in the Indian Ocean, especially in the Red Sea. They can also be found in Atlantic Ocean(Mediterranean Sea), as well as in certain areas of the Pacific Ocean. Sometimes a query appears in search engines: “European moray freshwater fish". This is an incorrect formulation, because the European moray eel (Muraena helena) lives only in sea water: in the Mediterranean Sea and along Atlantic coast Africa.

Moray eels are bottom dwellers, because they prefer to stay near the bottom, they practically do not appear on the surface of the water. They are most active at night when they emerge from their hiding places to hunt. During the day they hide in crevices between stones and rocks or among corals. The head is outside the shelter and is constantly moving: this is how the moray eel looks out for fish swimming past - its possible prey.

Are there freshwater moray eels?

Yes, there is a species of moray eels that have the ability to live in water with dramatically changing salinity. This is an Indian muddy or mud moray eel (scientific name Gymnothorax tile), only 60 centimeters long, living in the western parts of the Pacific Ocean (from the coasts of India to the Philippine Islands). This species lives in coastal estuaries, as well as in mangrove forests and swamps, where salinity changes frequently; it is called "freshwater moray". However, such a name speaks only of the place where fish were caught, but does not mean the preferred environment for life. This moray eel can stay in desalinated water for a long time, and for favorable maintenance it is better to place it in an aquarium with salt water. With good nutrition and conditions, freshwater moray eels can live in captivity for thirty years.

Food, enemies and friends of moray eels

All kinds of bottom fish serve as food for moray eels; cephalopods (primarily octopuses, as well as squid and cuttlefish); crustaceans (large shrimps and crabs); from echinoderms - sea urchins. They hunt mainly at night, and during the day they sit in their dwellings (any more natural shelter among corals and rocks). To search for food, the sense of smell is the main help, and moray eels usually sense prey from a great distance. As soon as a potential prey is within reach, the predator quickly jumps out of its hiding place and grabs it with a stranglehold thanks to its sharp teeth.

Moray eels have practically no enemies. After all, they constantly sit in shelters, and there are few who want to fight with a large and fairly strong fish, which is armed with a mouth with sharp teeth. In rare moments of free swimming, the moray eel may be pursued by other fish, but it immediately hides in a nearby crevice. There are species that can crawl away from pursuers even on land, moving to a safe place.

The depths of the seas and oceans abound with various inhabitants, among which there are quite dangerous for humans. Among them is the Moray fish, a meeting with which does not bode well. It is especially dangerous for divers who dive into sea ​​depths co special equipment. The moray eel has a strong disposition, and when a person approaches, it behaves very aggressively. At the slightest danger, she attacks the swimmer without warning, and can inflict serious injuries on him, because the fish's teeth are very sharp.

The color of the moray eel depends on the habitat, and can vary from dark brown to gray, with light spots. It always corresponds to the surrounding landscape, which is due to the need for camouflage and protection from enemies. Murena lives in the coral reefs of the Red and mediterranean seas, as well as in other places of the world ocean. An adult reaches a rather impressive size, from 1.8 to 3 meters and can weigh 50 kg or more. There are also small moray eels, weighing up to 5 kg, but they are also dangerous to humans, as they have a harsh disposition and very sharp teeth. Moray eels live for about 10 years.

The mating season for Muren falls in the winter months. At this time, they gather in shallow water, where they lay eggs, from which, subsequently, larvae will emerge, and, thanks to the sea current, will spread throughout the sea.

The moray eel is a predator. Goes hunting at night. The victim lies in wait, being in shelter. Costs marine life approach and gape, as it will immediately be in a toothy mouth. Murena hunts for an octopus in a completely different way, which is a delicacy for her. She drives him into a shelter from which he cannot get out, and, sticking her flat head between the stones, gradually bites off small pieces from his body. During the day, the predator is passive, and hides in the crevices of rocks, among coral reefs, and in other bottom shelters. But if a fish swims in the immediate vicinity of his shelter, then it will certainly be attacked and immediately eaten.

You should not approach Murena, and even more so, try to touch her with your hands. It is very dangerous. It is better to watch her from the side, without making sudden movements. Its bite is similar to that of a pit bull. She grabs her prey and won't let go. It is difficult to open the jaws of a predator, and you can free yourself only by losing a piece of muscle tissue. The moray eel, wounded by a harpoon, behaves very aggressively. She attacks the diver, trying to bite him. It must be hunted with great care. Moray meat can be eaten only after special processing, as it may contain poison.

I don’t think that anyone was fascinated by the appearance of moray eels - despite the often beautiful color of her body, the appearance of this fish is repulsive. The predatory look of small prickly eyes, an unpleasant mouth with needle-like teeth, a snake-like body and the unfriendly character of moray eels do not at all conducive to friendly communication.

Let's try to get to know this, in its own way interesting and unique fish. Perhaps our attitude towards her, at least a little, will warm up.

Moray eels (Muraena) belong to the genus of fish from the eel family (Muraenidae). About 200 species of moray eels live in the seas of the World Ocean. Most of them prefer warm tropical waters and subtropical zones. A frequent visitor to coral reefs and underwater rocks.

Quite often they are found in the Red Sea, they also live in the Mediterranean. The Red Sea is home to snowflake moray, zebra moray, geometric moray, star moray, white-spotted moray, and elegant moray. The largest of them is the stellar moray, its average length reaches 180 cm.

The Mediterranean moray eel living in the Mediterranean Sea reaches 1.5 meters in length. It was her image that was the prototype for numerous legends and myths about these predatory fish with enough unusual appearance. For permanent residence they choose crevices in the rocks, shelters in underwater stone rubble, in general - places where you can safely hide a large and completely unprotected body. It lives mainly in the bottom layer of the seas.

The body color is camouflage, consistent with the surrounding landscape. More often, moray eels are painted in dark brown or grayish tones with spots that form a semblance of a marble pattern on the body. There are also uniformly colored, and even white individuals. Since the mouth of moray eels is of considerable size, its inner surface is painted to match the color of the body, so as not to unmask the moray eel when it opens its mouth wide. And the mouth of moray eels, almost always, is open. By pumping water through the open mouth into the gill openings, the moray eel increases the access of oxygen to the body.

The head bears small, round eyes that make the moray eels even more vicious. Behind the eyes are small gill openings, which usually have a dark spot. The anterior and posterior nasal openings of moray eels are located on the upper side of the snout; the first pair is represented by simple openings, while the second in some species has the form of tubules, while in others it has the shape of leaves. If the moray eels plug up the nasal openings, she will not be able to find her prey. Interesting feature moray eels lack of language. Their powerful jaws are seated with 23-28 sharp canine-shaped or awl-shaped teeth, bent back, which helps the moray eels to hold the caught prey. Almost all moray eels have teeth in one row, with the exception of the Atlantic green moray eel, in which an additional row of teeth is located on the palatine bone.

The teeth of moray eels are long and extremely sharp. In some species of moray eels, the diet of which is dominated by armored animals - crustaceans, crabs, teeth have a flattened shape. With such teeth, it is easier to split and grind the strong protection of the prey. Moray eels do not contain poison on their teeth. The jaws of all moray eels are very powerful, large in size. Moray eels have no pectoral fins, and the rest - the dorsal, anal and caudal fins have grown together into one train framing the back of the body.

Moray eels can reach considerable sizes. According to various sources, their length can be 2.5 or even more than 3 meters (the world's largest giant moray eel Thyrsoidea macrura). One and a half meter individuals weigh an average of 8-10 kg. Interestingly, males are smaller and slimmer than females. Here's a stronger sex for you!, with a weight of up to 40 kg. Among moray eels there are also small species, the length of which does not exceed ten centimeters. The average size moray eels, most often seen by divers, are approximately one meter. As a rule, males are slightly smaller than females.

Moray eels breed with caviar. In the winter months, they gather in shallow water, where the eggs laid by the females are fertilized by the sex products of the males. Eggs and moray eel larvae hatched from them move in the water by sea currents and are carried along large area sea ​​areas. Moray eels are predators, their diet consists of various bottom animals - crabs, crustaceans, cephalopods, especially octopuses, medium-sized marine fish and even sea urchins. They forage mainly at night. Lurking in ambush, moray eels lie in wait for gaping prey, jumping out of it with an arrow if a potential victim appears within reach, and grab it with their sharp teeth. During the day, moray eels sit in their dwelling - crevices of rocks and corals, among large stones and other natural hiding places and rarely hunt. The sight when the moray eel cracks down on its victim is rather unpleasant. She instantly tears her prey into small pieces with her long teeth, and in a matter of moments only memories remain from the victim.

Moray eels can hunt not only from ambush. The favorite delicacy of most moray eels is the octopus. In pursuit of this sedentary animal, the moray eel drives it into a "corner" - some kind of shelter or crevice and, sticking its head to its soft body, tears off piece by piece from it, starting with the tentacles, until it is torn into small pieces and eaten without a trace. Moray eels can swallow small prey whole, like snakes. When biting off a piece of the body from a large prey, the moray eel is often helped by its own tail, with which it, like a lever, increases the power of its jaws. A peculiar method of hunting is used by nosed moray eels. These relatively small representatives of moray eels are so named for the outgrowths above their upper jaw. These nasal outgrowths, oscillating in the current of water, resemble sedentary marine worms - polychaetes. The type of "prey" attracts small fish, which very quickly turn out to be the prey of a hidden predator.

In search of food, moray eels, like most nocturnal predators, rely on the sense of smell. Their eyesight is poorly developed, and even at night it is a poor helper in search of food. The moray eel victim can be felt at a considerable distance. The notoriety of fish dangerous to humans has been attached to moray eels since ancient times. IN Ancient Rome noble citizens often kept moray eels in pools, growing them for food - the meat of these fish was extremely valued because of its specific taste. Quickly appreciating the ability of moray eels to be aggressive, the noble Romans used them as a tool to punish delinquent slaves, and sometimes they threw people into a cage with moray eels solely for the sake of entertainment. Indeed - oh, times! .. Oh, morals! .. Muren, before arranging such tortures or spectacles, they kept starving. When a person was in the pool, they pounced on him and, hanging on the victim, like bulldogs, shook their jaws, tearing out pieces of flesh.

About the danger of moray eels for people in natural environment habitats, there are different opinions. Some researchers consider it a fairly peaceful animal, using its teeth solely for the sake of protection from too annoying divers, others consider the moray eel to be extremely dangerous. sea ​​creature. One way or another, there are many known cases of attacks and bites of people by moray eels. Here are some of them. In 1948, biologist I. Brock, who later became director of the Hawaiian Institute of Marine Biology at University of Hawaii, scuba diving near Johnston Island in pacific ocean at a shallow depth. Before Brock was immersed in the water, a grenade was thrown - this was part of the research program that the biologist was engaged in. Noticing a large moray eel in the water and thinking that she was killed by a grenade, Brock faked her with a spear. However, the moray eel, whose length was 2.4 meters, was far from dead: she rushed straight at the offender and grabbed his elbow. Moray eel, attacking a person, inflicts a wound that looks like a barracuda bite mark. But unlike the barracuda, the moray eel does not immediately swim away, but hangs on its prey, like a bulldog. Brock managed to rise to the surface and reach a boat waiting nearby. However, the surgeons had to deal with this wound for a long time, as it turned out to be very serious. The victim nearly lost his arm.

Affected by moray eels and famous crooner Dieter Bohlen (duet Modern Talking). While diving in the area Seychelles the moray eel clung to his leg, tearing the skin and muscles of the singer. D. Bolen underwent surgery after this incident, and spent a whole month in a wheelchair. Once, specialists even had to relocate a pair of moray eels from a popular reef among tourists (Old cod hole, Great Barrier Reef, 1996). While feeding, the fish tore the hand of a diver from New Zealand so badly that it was not possible to save him. Unfortunately, the moray eels died during transportation.

I think that the above examples will help novice divers to assess the danger of meeting with moray eels and take measures to prevent such cases. These measures are simple - you should not provoke the moray eels to aggressive actions. Very rarely (usually starved) moray eels attack people for no reason. When you see a moray eel, you should not irritate this fish - approach its dwelling, try to stroke it, and even more so - put your hands into its shelter. Spearfishers should not shoot holes and crevices just to check if there is a moray eel there. If she really lives there, she will certainly attack you. If you don't provoke her, she won't touch you.

Directed fishing for moray eels is not conducted. They are caught in single specimens for consumption. It should be noted that the meat and some organs of moray eels in different time years may contain toxic substances that cause severe convulsions stomach and nerve damage. Therefore, you should study this issue in more detail before trying the taste of moray eel meat.

Sometimes moray eels are kept in large aquariums. The behavior of these predators in a closed volume may not be the same. Often, moray eels show extreme aggressiveness towards their aquarium neighbors, sometimes they are completely indifferent to roommates. In captivity, moray eels can live for more than ten years. Moray eels, like all predatory fish, are an important link in the ecological balance of the seas where they live. Therefore, their extermination negatively affects the health of the fauna of these regions.

In ancient times, therefore, moray eels were considered terrible monsters. Then they believed in huge sea monsters that could swallow a whole ship. And this ability was attributed, in particular, to moray eels. Later in history, there were cases when they were trained to attack a person. But all this never prevented people from hunting moray eels. It is eaten and considered a delicacy, although its meat can be very poisonous. The ancient Romans kept moray eels in special pens to prepare them for feasts. They were a terrible execution for slaves. It's such a strange food chain. In the Caribbean, moray eel ceviche is still popular, a dish that is prepared in a very exotic way and rather brutal.