Common Name
Stout Moray
Year Described
Osório, 1911
Identification
Body elongate yet very robust with well developed dorsal and anal finfolds. Body thickest on anterior third and tapering rearward. Trunk a little shorter than tail. Head thickens dramatically behind eye. Snout blunt. Jaw closes completely. A single row of fangs along upper jaw. A single row of 2-3 median intermaxillary fangs. Vomer with no obvious teeth. Lower jaw with a single row of fangs. Anterior nostril is a small tube. Rear nostril a tubular opening above anterior eye. Eye medium. Throat region grooved. Gill opening a simple hole. Dorsal origin well anterior to gill opening. Fins confluent around tail.
Color
Body orange-brown with large orangish blotches on body and fins beginning at about the level of the gill opening. Markings get darker toward the tail tip. Blotches with narrow interspaces that have a silvery sheen in adults. Blotching fades in the largest individuals. Head is normally unmarked. A dark blotch covers the gill opening. Eye is dark with an orange ring around pupil. Inside of mouth is distinctly bright orange-yellow.
Size
Maximum size to 186cm TL. One of the largest W. Atlantic morays.
Habitat
Rocky reefs from 1-68m, with adults usually found under 30m and juveniles in shallow water.
Range
Scattered records in the area: North Carolina to Florida and the Caribbean Sea off Colombia and Panama.
References
Böhlke, E.B. 2002. Muraenidae (pp 700-718). In: Carpenter. 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 32: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae). FAO Species Identification Guides for Fisheries Purposes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5.
Garzón-Ferreira, J., & A. Acero. 1990. Muraenid fishes (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) of the Colombian Caribbean, with notes on Channomuraena vittata and Muraena robusta. Revista de Biología Tropical, 38(1), 137-141.