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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing moray eels. Don’t swim away with subscribing to the channel! There are about 200 species of moray eels, and they can be found doing that weird thing they do with their mouths throughout the world’s tropical and temperate waters - don’t worry, we’ll get to the mouth thing. Moray eels can be found as deep as 1,000 feet (300 meters) below the waves, up into shallow intertidal zones, and even into fresh and brackish water - one example of this being the... freshwater... moray eel. Some species prefer specific habitats, like the ribbon eel who loves to live in the sand, while others can be found in coral or rock formations, seagrass meadows, scallop beds, and more. Most of them, however, only become fully active at night.

Even though moray eels have bulging eyes, these eyes are sort of useless. Moray eels depend on their sense of smell to find food, so it’s a good thing darkness doesn’t impede aromas! These eels may look pretty ferocious, but not all species have pointy teeth. Some species have more round teeth and they tend to eat crustaceans. Some of them, like chain morays (Echidna catenata) love crabs so much, they will actually chase crabs right out of the water! That’s some dedication considering moray eels are fish. It might be weird to think of an eel as a fish, but it’s probably because these guys don’t have pectoral or pelvic fins. Here… now you see it, right? Like many other fish, moray eels have gills and this is where the weird mouth thing comes in. It’s… it’s literally just breathing. Moray eels have a reputation for being aggressive, and the weird mouth thing probably plays a role in this, but they generally don’t cause harm unless provoked.

Now, I will be fair and admit that the way moray eels eat is nightmare inducing. For big prey items, such as fish, moray eels can tie themselves in a knot around their prey. Once tied up, the moray eel will just bite off chunks of its victim and eat until it’s had its fill. And if that wasn’t intimidating enough, they have a second set of jaws that assists them in eating their food. This second set of teeth is located in their throats and comes out when they’ve secured a meal, like a cephalopod, by holding it in place with their regular jaws. I guess this freaks everybody else out too because moray eels don’t have many predators. It could also be the mucus.

Moray eels cover themselves in mucus to help them slide into hidey holes and to help with ridding their skin of parasites. In fact, green moray eels aren’t actually green but more of a brown color and it’s their mucus that gives them the green sheen. Regardless of the snot skin, some people do eat moray eels. When they aren’t depending on mucus for looking fabulous, moray eels may have shrimpy helpers who rid their skin of parasites, as well.

The smallest moray eels are less than half a foot (15 centimeters) long while the largest can be more than eight feet (2.4 meters) in length, but something weird about them is that they actually shrink as they get older. Moray eels go through an egg, larval, then adult stage, and when they’re in the larval stage they will be longer than they will be when they become juvenile adults. Plus, they may have both male and female reproductive organs when they’re younger but then settle into one sex or the other once they get older. Puberty, amiright? Moray eels are likely broadcast spawners, meaning the eggs are fertilized externally in the water column. The eggs may float around for upwards of a year and then hatch into larvae who may not metamorphose into adults for another year or two. If they can make it to adulthood, moray eels may live to be at least two decades old!

For more facts on moray eels, check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.