Gymnothorax miliaris

Gymnothorax miliaris, the goldentail moray, bastard eel, yellow canary moray eel, or conger moray, is a species of marine fish in the family Muraenidae.[2]

Goldentail moray
Goldentail moray (Gymnothorax miliaris) in the waters off San Salvador Island, Bahamas
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Muraenidae
Genus: Gymnothorax
Species:
G. miliaris
Binomial name
Gymnothorax miliaris
(Kaup, 1856)

Description

The goldentail moray is a medium-sized fish that can reach a maximum length of 70 cm, but the ones usually observed are rather average 40 cm in length.[3][4] Its serpentine in shape body has a brown light or dark background color dotted with small yellow spots. These later are smaller on the head and larger at the tail. The snout and the tail are yellowish. The inside of their mouth is white.

Distribution and habitat

The goldentail moray is widespread throughout the western Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, so it is present from Florida, Bermudas until southeast Brazil.[5][6][7] Its presence was also reported in the islands from the center of the Atlantic Ocean like Saint Helena and Ascension but also close to the African coast in the Cape Verde Islands.[5][3]

It typically lives on rocky and coral reef slopes between the surface and 35 meters (115.5 feet) in depth with a maximum reported at 60 meters (198 feet).[8][9]

Biology

The conger moray is a solitary carnivorous fish, it leaves its lair at night to actively hunt its preys along the reef but it can also been observed hunting during daytime. It feeds mainly on small invertebrates like crustaceans and mollusks, rarely on small fishes.

Trivia

The goldentail moray may be an inspiration for a song off the 1997 Ween album "The Mollusk", "The Golden Eel".[10]

References
  1. Smith, D.G. & McCosker, J. (2015). "Gymnothorax miliaris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Gymnothorax miliaris (Kaup, 1856). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 15 January 2019.
  3. Smith, D.G. and E.B. Böhlke, 1990. Muraenidae. p. 136-148. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1.
  4. Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez, 1992. Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de Sur América. FAO, Rome. 513 p. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD.
  5. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). "Gymnothorax miliaris" in FishBase. January 2019 version.
  6. Claro, R., 1994. Características generales de la ictiofauna. p. 55-70. In R. Claro (ed.) Ecología de los peces marinos de Cuba. Instituto de Oceanología Academia de Ciencias de Cuba and Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo. DOI
  7. Carvalho-Filho, A., 1999. Peixes: costa Brasileira. 3ª edicão. Melro, São Paulo. 320 p.
  8. Smith, C.L., 1997. National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
  9. Gasparini, J.L. and S.R. Floeter, 2001. The shore fishes of Trindade Island, western South Atlantic. J. Nat. Hist. 35:1639-1656.
  10. "Ween's The Mollusk Turns 20: An Oral History By Mickey Melchiondo". Stereogum. 2017-07-11. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
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