Up to ten different types of moray eels can be found on our coasts. This animal is characterised by its elongated and muscular shape, similar to that of a snake.
You can find specimens of 40 cm, 60 cm, even one metre or more and weighing from one kilo to two, three or more. An adult moray eel can reach a maximum length of 130 cm and weigh 6 kilos.
The shape of their head and their colours make the difference between the different species. The most common species on the islands are the black moray (dark brown with irregular black spots and white spots) and the painted moray (yellow with irregular dark brown spots and brown head with small yellow spots).
It has no pectoral fins and its gill openings are reduced to small holes. It does not have scales either, but rather a thick skin covered with mucus that is toxic in some species, to protect it from aggression, and which also facilitates its hydrodynamism. It generally lives among rocks and can reach up to 1.5 m in length. Although it is harmless if left undisturbed, its bite can be dangerous for humans because, due to its diet, its mouth contains a significant number of bacteria that can cause severe infections in the event of a bite.
It is often found together with the small shrimp Lysmata seticaudata, which has worming habits and cleans the bodies of moray eels, conger eels and blennies with which it shares shelter. The moray will never eat its companion, the shrimp Lysmata seticaudata, but will remain motionless until it has finished its cleaning job. Such is the shrimp's cleaning vocation that, if we were to bring a finger close to the exit of the orifice where it lives, it would first analyse us with its antennae and then proceed to deworm us.
They can be observed on the rocks opening and closing their mouths, a mechanism used to pump water into their gills.
The reproduction of the Mediterranean moray is little known, although it is known that the reproductive period takes place during the winter and they produce around 60,000 eggs in open waters.
Most of their predatory activity takes place at night, they are solitary and very territorial, and are very aggressive. They are nocturnal, which explains why their eyes are so rudimentary, while their sense of smell is highly developed, being the one they use primarily to locate prey or enemies.
Its prey are mainly fish, crustaceans and cephalopods, which it catches with its powerful teeth by ambush, although it loves octopuses.
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