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Tessellate Moray
Gymnothorax favagineus Bloch & Schneider, 1801
A Tessellate Moray at a depth of 20 m, South Male Atoll, Maldive Islands, July 2001. Photo © H. Rothenfluh and P. Zylstra. View larger image.
A Tessellate Moray caught at One Tree Island, Queensland, October 1971. Photo © B. Goldman. View larger image.
The Tessellate Moray is grey to pale brown. It has black spots on the head, body and fins. The spots become relatively smaller as the fish grows.
This species grows to 1.8 m in length. There are unconfirmed reports of individuals up to 3 m long.
The Tessellate Moray occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-West Pacific, in depths from 1 m to at least 50 m.
In Australia it is known from north-western Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country and south to the central coast of New South Wales.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The Tessellate Moray has also been called the Coral Eel, Giraffe Eel, Honeycomb Moray and Blackspotted Moray.
Related links
- Abbott's Moray fact sheet
- Giant Moray fact sheet
- Whitemouth Moray fact sheet
- View the Moray Eels list
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Michael, S.W. 1998. Reef Fishes. Volume 1. A Guide to Their Identification, Behaviour, and Captive Care. Microcosm. Pp. 624.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 557.
