A moray eel is typically spotted protruding from a reef crevice, (rather than swimming out in the open waters), but today’s Underwater Wednesday shows you an example of both!
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| ©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Moray eel photographed in Cozumel.
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| ©Life as an Artist’s Wife
Moray eel photographed in Cozumel.
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Photo Fun Facts:
- The continuous opening and closing of their mouths actually isn’t to intimidate (or humor) those they encounter. They have particularly small gills, so this open and close movement helps with water flow and respiration.
- They usually hunt at night...and seeing one swimming out in the open during a night dive can be a bit scary!
- The dorsal fin of the moray eel runs almost the entire length of its body.
- They are almost entirely blind, so they hunt by smell.
- Because they don’t have pectoral and pelvic fins, they have a snake-like appearance.
- This moray eel was about 5 feet long.
- Michael took this photo at a depth of about 40 feet.
