zebra moray
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Zebra moray
| image = Gymnomuraena zebra by NPS.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| parent_authority = Lacépède, 1803
| taxon = Gymnomuraena zebra
| authority = (G. Shaw, 1797)
| display_parents = 2
| synonyms = Echidna zebra
| range_map=
| range_map_caption=
}}
{{Commons category|Gymnomuraena zebra}}
{{Wikispecies|Gymnomuraena zebra}}
The zebra moray (Gymnomuraena zebra) is a species of marine fish in the family Muraenidae. It is the only member of the genus Gymnomuraena, though it sometimes has been included in Echidna instead.
Description
The zebra moray is considered as a medium-sized fish even if it can reach a maximum length of 150 cm.
However, the average size commonly observed is more of the order of 50 cm.Myers, R. F., 1991. Micronesian reef fishes. Second Ed. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 298 pp.
It is densely banded dark and whitish, giving rise to its common name.Sommer, C., W. Schneider and J.-M. Poutiers, 1996. FAO species identification field guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of Somalia. FAO, Rome. 376 pp.
Its snout is round and short.
Distribution and habitat
The zebra moray is widespread throughout the Indo-Pacific area from eastern coast of Africa until western coast of the Americas, including the Red Sea, Hawaii and Galápagos.Fricke, R., 1999. Fishes of the Mascarene Islands (Réunion, Mauritius, Rodriguez): an annotated checklist, with descriptions of new species. Koeltz Scientific Books, Koenigstein, Theses Zoologicae, Vol. 31:759 p.McCosker, J. E. and R. H. Rosenblatt, 1995. Muraenidae. Morenas. pp. 1303–1315. In W. Fischer, F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K. E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) Guia FAO para Identification de Especies para lo Fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. 3 vols. FAO, Rome.
The zebra moray is a benthic fish, its favorite habitat corresponds to the rocky or coral reef on coastal shallow water up to 40 meters deep.Mundy, B. C., 2005. Checklist of the fishes of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Bishop Museum Bulletins in Zoology. Bishop Mus. Bull. Zool. (6):1–704.
Biology
Gymnomuraena zebra has a nocturnal activity and actively hunt its prey. Unlike most other moray eels, it feeds exclusively on crustaceans, sea urchins and mollusks.Lieske, E. and R. Myers, 1994. Collins Pocket Guide. Coral reef fishes. Indo-Pacific & Caribbean including the Red Sea. Harper Collins Publishers, 400 pp.Kuiter, R. H. and T. Tonozuka, 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 1. Eels- Snappers, Muraenidae – Lutjanidae. Zoonetics, Australia. 302 pp.
References
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