Starry Moray (species: Echidna nebulosa) in Bulahdelah (Gaia Guide)
Bulahdelah > Animalia > Chordata > Mammalia > Monotremata > Tachyglossidae > Echidna nebulosa (gallery)
Echidna nebulosa
Starry Moray


©Anne: Starry Moray (Echidna nebulosa) exposed at low tide at Eagle Island

©David Witherall and Samuel Carmody: Snowflake Eel (Echidna nebulosa) Normanby Island (reef flats)

©David Witherall and Barry Dewson: Starry Moray (Echidna nebulosa), Upolu Reef, Ocean Freedom

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Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Actinopterygii
Order Anguilliformes
Family Muraenidae
Genus Echidna
Species Echidna nebulosa

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Colours

                        

Distinguishing features

Distinguishing features still need to be specified.

Size

  • Up to 70 cm (Measured as the total length of the fish: the length from the tip of the snout to the tip of the longer lobe of the caudal fin, usually measured with the lobes compressed along the midline. It is a straight-line measure, not measured over the curve of the body.)

Depth range

  • Depth range data is not yet available.

Synonyms

Interesting facts

  • The snowflake moray eel is a specialist in shallow tidal waters and can swim through the spaces between the rubble in the reef flats, which means they can be literally swimming under your feet as you walk over the rubble. They feed mainly on crustaceans (crabs and shrimps) and like some fish they can change sex, starting as a female and then turning into a male when reaching a certain size and/or when no other male is present

Distribution


©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution

Distribution and habitat preferences

It can be found in marine environments.

Web resources

References

  • Randall, J.E., G.R. Allen and R.C. Steene (1990). Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii.