35 interesting facts about moray eel fish. Moray eel: toothy, predatory and poisonous Moray eel poison

One of the most dangerous inhabitants seabed – moray eel fish PAGEREF

First acquaintance.
Species diversity.
Lifestyle and connection with a person.
Reproduction and offspring.

One of the most dangerous inhabitants of the seabed is the moray eel fish.

First acquaintance

Moray eel, a fish since ancient times, belonged to one of the most interesting and attention-grabbing families of fish. Such greedy enthusiasm in finding, catching and studying them can hardly be explained beautiful shape or harmless behavior. Moreover, there have been cases of them attacking people.

The sea fish moray eel belongs to the order of eels. It reaches impressive lengths, the color is variegated, spotted and varies depending on environment. Everyone knows that the nostrils of fish are not intended for breathing, but perform an olfactory function. Moray eels are doubly successful in this matter; they have two pairs of nostrils.

Another interesting fact is their lack of language. Over time, as they grow up, they lose their fins, and this gives them a certain resemblance to snakes. This unflattering description ends with something resembling a fish head with tiny eyes and a prominent mouth. With its ugly structure of teeth, sharp as knives, its jaw can perhaps only be compared with that of a shark.

Until recently, it was widely believed that its teeth were poisonous, but numerous studies and studies of this fish have refuted this theory. It is widely believed that the moray eel cannot completely close its mouth due to the size of its teeth, but this fact also turned out to be unfounded, since this is due to the fact that it hides in places where the flow of water to the gills is difficult and the mouth is used for breathing.

For all their gluttony, moray eels deprive their attention of wrasse fish - cleaners and shrimp - orderlies. These small residents underwater world Moray eels serve as domestic servants; they clean their skin on the head and in the mouth.

Species diversity

This family is rich in species diversity, ranging from the Red Sea to the western Indian Ocean species of moray eels:

Snezhnaya;
Ring;
Moray eel - zebra;
White-lipped;
Wild;
Moray Berndt et al.

Muraena Helena

Most common. These predators live in holes in coral reefs, recesses of underwater rocks. The choice of such a habitat is not accidental and is directly related to the nature and method of its hunting. She hides in secluded places, only sticking her head out slightly, and when the time comes, she attacks the unsuspecting victim with lightning speed. The marine inhabitants suffering from her gluttony include the following:

Octopuses;
Cancers;
Small fish;
Crabs;
Cuttlefish.

If the prey is small, it quickly deals with it with the help of its terrifying teeth. When she comes across something larger, for example, an octopus, she tears small pieces from him. Even the natural protection of crayfish in the form of a shell cannot save them from their powerful jaws.
Wild moray eel (Muraenesox ferox)

Of all the species, it is most similar to a snake due to its longer length head and its conical shape. It has small brown spots on its sides. The habitat includes the subtropical zone of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans.

Berndt's moray (Gymnothorax berndti)

Its distinctive feature is its specific coloring. The general color is dark brown with black zigzag stripes throughout the body. Found in tropical seas. Very similar to its fellows in lifestyle and habitats. Features include the almost frantic pressure with which it attacks its prey and defends itself when threatened.

Lifestyle and connection with a person

In the underwater world, they are rarely attacked by other fish. Nightlife and camouflage by using coral reefs and other natural means of concealment, they are almost always safe. In rare cases of persecution, some species can overcome small areas of land with the help of a developed muscular system.

Cases of attacks on humans are rare, since the reason for the attack can only be a manifestation of aggression or excessive curiosity. In this case, it is mainly adults who pose a serious danger. For the first time, the specific taste of the Mediterranean moray eel was appreciated by gourmets of Ancient Rome. Nowadays, people often engage in fishing related to the extraction of these fish because of their exotic taste, although the meat of some species is poisonous.

Reproduction and offspring

Such an issue as reproduction has not yet been fully studied. Some of their species are dioecious. Like eels, the offspring of moray eels are called leptocephali. The body of small fish is absolutely transparent, in the first minutes of life they are very tiny, the shape of the head is round, and the caudal fin is rounded.

Due to their tiny size and inability to resist the flow of water, they drift freely with the current. Thus, the spread of moray eels, sedentary in their way of life, occurs. They quickly become sexually mature and can already produce new offspring. For a fish, they have a fairly long lifespan.

Video review of the most dangerous moray eel fish:

While hunting, demonstrating the incredible flexibility of its subtle body. This article is devoted to moray eels, which are made very similar to snakes not only by their 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 united into a family with the scientific name - Muraenidae (Moray eels). These are the closest relatives of eels, as they belong to the order Anguilliformes.

Aggressive and poisonous

Representatives of the Murenovs have been well known to people since ancient times and have a reputation for being aggressive and poisonous living creatures. All species are quite large: from 60 centimeters to almost 4 meters. Features appearance:

The body is very long and slightly flattened on the sides, it is thinner in the back, and thicker in the middle and in the front.
There are no pectoral fins, but 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 frozen eyes

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

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

A seemingly evil, frozen look in the eyes is also associated with being in ambush for a long time while waiting for prey.

Other appearance features and color of moray eels

The moray eel fish has no scales, and the skin is smooth and thick, covered with mucus. Thanks to mucus, fish easily penetrate into various burrows and crevices that they use as homes. During a hunt, mucus allows the predator to very quickly jump out of cover and attack an unwary prey.

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

Of the four nasal openings, one pair looks like fairly long nostrils in the form of tubes or leaves. A video of a moray eel taken at the Coex Aquarium (Seoul) gives the opportunity to see the yellow tubes of the nostrils of a snow moray eel.

What color are moray eels?

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

The bright color that is not typical for moray eels is distinguished by the ribbon rhinomurena (Rhinomuraena quaesita), which, due to its changing color throughout life, has several other names: blue ribbon eel, black-striped eel and blue-striped eel. The word “eel” in this context only means that it is a close relative of eels and belongs to the eel-like order.

Color and gender changing rhinomurene

Ribbon moray ( Rhinomuraena quaesita) like (amphiprions) is a protandric hermaphrodite. This means that young individuals are all males, then when their body length reaches more than 85 centimeters, they become females.

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

The juveniles have deep black skin and a bright yellow dorsal fin.
Having reached sixty centimeters in length, the young turn into bright blue males, their jaws turn yellow.
In males with a body length of 85 centimeters, a change of sex occurs, they become females and the color of the body gradually turns from blue to yellow. Females of Ribbon Rhinomurena are yellow in color.

Regardless of its color and sexual state (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 lobes 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 bury themselves in 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 the skin outgrowths located at the tip of the lower jaw. They can also eat crustaceans, but rarely.

Environment and lifestyle

Moray eels are exclusively marine life 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 in search engines the query appears: “European moray eel” 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 and 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 rocks and rocks or among corals. The head is outside the shelter and constantly moves: this is how the moray eel looks out for fish swimming past - its possible prey.

Are there freshwater moray eels?

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

Food, enemies and friends of moray eels

All kinds of bottom-dwelling fish serve as food for moray eels; cephalopods(primarily octopuses, but also squid and cuttlefish); crustaceans (large shrimp and crabs); from echinoderms - sea urchins. They hunt mainly at night, and during the day they hide in their homes (any more natural shelter among corals and rocks). To find food, the main aid is the sense of smell, and moray eels usually sense prey from a great distance. As soon as the potential victim is within reach, the predator quickly jumps out from its hiding place and grabs it with a death grip 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 quite strong fish 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 are able to crawl away from their pursuers even over land, moving to a safe place.

Moray eels belong to the family Moray eels(lat. Muraenidae) are bottom-dwelling marine ray-finned fish of the eel order.

Moray eels are found throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans in tropical and temperate latitudes. They live at the bottom among stones, in coral crevices, in caves and grottoes at depths of up to 50 meters. Some species, for example, Yellow-mouthed moray, can descend to a depth of 150-170 meters.

A powerful snake-like body, slightly flattened on the sides, without scales, allows these fish to easily and gracefully not only swim at the very bottom, but also penetrate and hide in crevices and holes between stones. The dorsal fin stretches along the entire body from the head itself, smoothly turning into the tail. In the huge mouth of moray eels there are two pairs of jaws with sharp fang-like teeth. The second pair of jaws is located deep in the throat and moves forward to grab prey and pull it into the esophagus. The body color can be either monochromatic or with many multi-colored spots and stripes.

Moray eels feed on fish, crabs, lobsters, cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish, octopuses) - almost everything that moves. They are active mainly at night, although there are species with daytime activity. During the day they hide in their shelters, periodically changing position and sticking out only their massive head. Their constantly opening toothy mouth looks very menacing. In deserted places and at night, moray eels often visit shallow waters.

The size of these fish varies over a very wide range, the length of the smallest moray does not exceed 11.5 cm, this is the species Anarchias leucurus, which is not found in the Red Sea, and the largest is the giant moray, Gymnothorax javanicus, whose length reaches 3 meters, and the weight reaches 30 kg, this moray eel is very widespread in the Red Sea. But the largest representative of moray eels is the species Strophidon sathete; the length of this fish reaches 4 meters.

Moray eels received their vicious reputation not entirely deservedly. Despite their creepy appearance, they do not attack first unless divers show increased attention to them by provoking, annoying or trying to hand-feed these predators. Hand-feeding moray eels is a very impressive sight, but always poses some danger, since the behavior of these fish is difficult to predict. Moray eels' vision is rather weak, but their sense of smell is well developed, and sudden aggressiveness can be associated with a physiological state, fear, illness, or damage received the day before. Despite the absence of poisonous teeth, moray eel bites are very painful and do not heal for a long time; when bitten, the moray eel hangs on the victim with a death grip, like a bull terrier, while shaking its jaw, causing lacerations sharp teeth. It is usually not possible to free yourself; help is required.

Video shows a moray eel attacking divers:

IN Ancient Rome Moray eel meat was highly valued because of its specific taste. The Romans kept fish in special huge aquariums and artificial reservoirs. At present, moray eel fishing is not carried out, because Ciguatoxin is present in the skin of some species, especially those living in the Indo-Pacific basin.

Moray eels tolerate desalination well, so they often live in estuaries and often enter fresh water.

Eggs and larvae develop in upper layers water and are carried by the current over vast distances. The leptocephalic stage, a transparent larva 7-10 mm long, characteristic of all eel-like fish, lasts several months.

Many moray eels are hermaphrodites - most of them mature as males and later change sex. There are also synchronous hermaphrodites in whom male and female males simultaneously develop. female organs reproduction.

Large moray eels live in one place throughout their entire life - about 10 years - and are well known to local guides.

The moray eel has long been considered a dangerous and voracious predator. According to ancient Roman sources, noble gentlemen and nobles used moray eels as one of the ways to punish guilty slaves. People were thrown into a pool with moray eels and watched a desperate fight. Before this, predatory fish were kept from hand to mouth and for several months accustomed to the smell of human blood.

Giant moray (lat. Gymnothorax javanicus) (eng. Giant moray). Photo by Andrey Narchuk

This is one of dark sides life of moray eels. But are they really so terrible and dangerous for humans? The answer is no! Most of the attacks of moray eels on humans occur solely through the fault of the person himself. And rightly so! There is no point in teasing a predator with teeth long and sharp as daggers.

Sharp teeth

Moray eel attacks a larger enemy only in cases of self-defense. Remember, not a single predator will simply rush at a creature that is larger than itself. Therefore, curious divers should not stick their hands where they shouldn’t, otherwise they could end up without fingers or even an arm. In particular, you should not stick your hands into small holes, caves and grottoes located in coral reefs, since this is where moray eels live.

In total, there are about 100 species of these predatory fish in the world. Among them there are both small individuals and giants, for example, the moray eel Gymnothorax javanicus. It is also called Javan gymnothorax or Javan lycodont. These moray eels grow up to 3 meters in length.

Its home is the tropical and temperate waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans, the Red Sea, and the coasts of the islands Southeast Asia, New Caledonia and Australia.

Like all representatives of fish from the moray eel family, the giant moray eel avoids open water and prefers to hide in reliable shelters located at a depth of no more than 50 meters.

Giant moray eel and cleaner

The camouflage color of giant moray eels is somewhat reminiscent of a leopard print. Head, upper part the bodies and fins are yellow-brown and richly strewn with dark spots of various sizes. The abdominal part remains without a pattern.

The giant moray eel hunts alone and exclusively at night, but sometimes there are exceptions (more on this below, when the joint hunting of the giant moray eel and sea bass will be considered).

You can't call her a gourmet. It feeds on almost any fish, large or small, crustaceans and cephalopods. She swallows small prey whole, and drives large prey into some crevice and there tears off piece by piece from it.

The pharyngeal jaw is indicated by an arrow

Huge and sharp teeth help to quickly deal with prey. BUT, here lies the little secret of almost all moray eels; they have not one, but two pairs of jaws in their mouths. The first - the main one, with large teeth, is where it should be, and the second - the pharyngeal - in the pharynx area. (P.S. They say that it was the moray eel that served as the prototype for the creation of a second, smaller, retractable jaw in the monster from the movie “Alien.”)

During hunting, the back jaw is located deep in the throat, but as soon as the prey is close to the mouth of the moray eel, it moves almost close to the front ones. Its main purpose is to push food into the esophagus and crush it. Agree, it is unlikely that the prey will be able to escape from this double “trap”.

Well, now what was promised - some interesting information about the joint hunt of the giant moray eel and sea bass - another predatory inhabitant of the underwater world.

Moray and sea bass

Usually each of them hunts alone: moray eel - at night and from ambush, and sea bass - during the day and in open water, so the only shelter from it is corals. But some moray eels of the Red Sea decided to break all the rules - periodically they go hunting during the day, and even with a companion.

Almost always, the initiator of such a hunt is sea bass. He swims up to the moray eel's hole and if its owner has already put her head out, then he shakes his head in different sides right in front of her nose. These actions mean an invitation to hunt together. The fish takes this step only if it is very hungry or its prey has hidden in a shelter not far from the moray eel’s burrow.

Having led it to the right place, the perch begins to shake its head, pointing to the right place. And the moray eel slips inside for its prey. All lunch is caught. The giant moray eel does not always eat the fish it catches with the help of its companion. Periodically, she gives it to her “comrade.”

Little is known about the reproduction process of the giant moray eel. Like other species, it reproduces by eggs. Most often, several females gather in shallow water, where they lay eggs, which are then fertilized by the males. Eggs often travel in water along with sea currents and are carried over long distances.

Hatched moray eels feed on zooplankton until they grow up. They then move to corals or reef areas to escape other predators, most often sharks.

Oral cleaning

Moray eels are not eaten very often and there is no targeted fishing for them. Although in ancient Rome moray eels were very highly valued for the specific taste of their meat. If smaller representatives of moray eels can be kept in an aquarium, then such a trick is unlikely to work with a giant moray eel, since it will need too much space for a comfortable stay.

I don’t think anyone is charmed by the appearance of a moray eel - despite the beautiful color of its 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 inhospitable character of moray eels are absolutely not conducive to friendly communication.

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

Moray eels (Muraena) belong to a 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 waters tropical and subtropical zones. A frequent visitor to coral reefs and underwater rocks.

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

The Mediterranean moray eel, which lives in the Mediterranean Sea, reaches 1.5 meters in length. It was her image that became the prototype for numerous legends and myths about these predatory fish with a rather unusual appearance.

For permanent residence, they choose clefts in rocks, shelters in underwater stone rubble, in general, places where they can reliably hide a large and completely unprotected body. It lives mainly in the bottom layer of seas.

A long, serpentine body, completely naked and devoid of scales, covered with mucus, which in some species is poisonous. The mucus helps the moray eel jump out of cover like an arrow when hunting, significantly reducing water resistance.

In addition, a body covered with a thick layer of mucus is easier to squeeze into narrow holes and crevices that moray eels use as shelter and homes.

The body color is camouflaged and matches the surrounding landscape. More often, moray eels are colored in dark brown or grayish tones with spots that form a kind of marble pattern on the body. There are also monochromatic and even white specimens.

Since the mouth of moray eels is of considerable size, its inner surface is colored 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 is almost always 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, which give the moray eel an even more evil appearance. Behind the eyes there 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 pair has the shape of tubes in some species, and leaves in others. If a moray eel “plugs” its nasal openings, it will not be able to find its prey.

An interesting feature of moray eels is the absence of a tongue. Their powerful jaws are lined with 23-28 sharp fang-shaped or awl-shaped teeth, curved back, which helps moray eels hold caught prey.

Almost all moray eels have teeth arranged in one row. The exception is the Atlantic green moray eel, in which an additional row of teeth is located on the palatine bone.

Moray eels have long and extremely sharp teeth. In some species of moray eels, whose diet is dominated by armored animals - crustaceans, crabs, the teeth have a flattened shape. With such teeth it is easier to split and grind the durable protection of prey. Moray eels' teeth do not contain poison. The jaws of all moray eels are very powerful and large.

Moray eels have no pectoral fins, and the rest - the dorsal, anal and caudal fins - have fused into one train, framing the back of the body.

Moray eels can reach significant sizes. By different sources, their length can be 2.5 and even more than 3 meters (the world's largest giant moray eel is Thyrsoidea macrura). One and a half meter individuals weigh on average 8-10 kg. Interestingly, males are smaller and “slimmer” than females. Here's the strong sex!, 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 of the moray eels most commonly encountered by divers is approximately one meter.

As a rule, males are slightly smaller than females.

Moray eels reproduce using eggs. IN winter months they gather in shallow water, where fertilization of eggs laid by females occurs with the reproductive products of males. The eggs and moray eel larvae that hatch from them move in the water by sea currents and are carried throughout large area sea areas.

Moray eels are predators; their diet consists of various bottom animals - crabs, crustaceans, cephalopods, especially octopuses, small sea urchins and even sea urchins.

They obtain food mainly at night. Lying in ambush, moray eels lie in wait for unwary prey, jumping out like an arrow if a potential victim appears within reach, and grabs it with its sharp teeth.
During the day, moray eels sit in their homes - crevices of rocks and corals, among large stones and other natural shelters and rarely hunt.

The sight of a moray eel dealing with its prey is quite 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 octopus. In pursuit of this sedentary animal, the moray eel drives it into a “corner” - some kind of shelter or crevice and, poking its head towards its soft body, tears off piece by piece from it, starting with the tentacles, until it tears it into small pieces and eats 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, which, like a lever, increases the power of its jaws.

Nosed moray eels use a unique method of hunting. These relatively small representatives of moray eels are named so for the outgrowths above their upper jaw. These nasal projections, oscillating in the flow of water, resemble sessile sea worms- polychaete. The sight of “prey” attracts small fish, which very quickly find themselves prey to a hidden predator.

In search of food, moray eels, like most nocturnal predators, rely on their sense of smell. Their vision is poorly developed, and even at night it is a poor assistant in searching for food. A moray eel can sense its prey from 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 due to their specific taste. Quickly assessing the ability of moray eels to be aggressive, noble Romans used them as a tool to punish offending slaves, and sometimes threw people into a tank with moray eels solely for the sake of entertainment.

Indeed - oh, times!.. Oh, morals!..

Moray eels, before such torture or spectacles were carried out, were kept from hand to mouth. When a person found himself 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 habitat 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 the University of Hawaii, scuba dived near Johnston Island in Pacific Ocean at shallow depths. 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 it had been killed by a grenade, Brock pierced it with a spear. However, the moray eel, which was 2.4 meters long, turned out to be far from dead: it rushed straight at the offender and grabbed his elbow. A moray eel, attacking a person, inflicts a wound that is similar to the bite mark of a barracuda. But unlike the barracuda, the moray eel does not immediately swim away, but hangs on its victim like a bulldog. Brock managed to rise to the surface and reach a boat waiting nearby. However, surgeons had to tinker with this wound for a long time, as it turned out to be very severe. The victim almost lost his arm.

The famous pop singer Dieter Bohlen (duet Modern Talking) also suffered from a moray eel.

While diving in the area Seychelles The moray eel grabbed his leg, tearing the singer's skin and muscles. After this incident, D. Bolen underwent surgery and spent a whole month in a wheelchair.

Once, experts even had to relocate a pair of moray eels from a reef popular among tourists (Old cod hole, Great Barrier Reef, 1996). While feeding, the fish tore the hand of a New Zealand diver so badly that it was impossible to save him.

Unfortunately, the moray eels died during transportation.

I think that the examples given will help novice divers assess the danger of encountering moray eels and take measures to prevent such cases.

These measures are simple - you should not provoke the moray eel into aggressive actions. Very rarely (usually exhausted by hunger) moray eels attack people for no reason.

Having seen a moray eel, you should not irritate this fish - approach its home, try to stroke it, and even more so - stick your hands into its shelter. Fans of spearfishing should not shoot into holes and crevices just to check whether 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.

There is no targeted fishing for moray eels. They are caught in single specimens for food consumption.
It should be noted that the meat and some organs of moray eels are different times years may contain toxic substances, causing severe stomach cramps 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 confined space may be different. Often moray eels show extreme aggressiveness towards their neighbors in the aquarium, sometimes they are completely indifferent to their roommates. In captivity, moray eels can live more than ten years.

Moray eels, like everyone else 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 scary monsters. Back then they believed in huge sea monsters capable of swallowing a whole ship. And this ability was attributed, in particular, to moray eels. Later in history, there were cases where they were trained to attack humans.

But all this has never stopped 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. This is such a strange food chain. In the Caribbean, moray eel ceviche is still popular - a dish that is prepared in a very exotic and rather brutal way.