Gymnothorax rueppelliae, the banded moray, banded reef-eel, Rüppell's moray, Rüppell's moray eel, black barred eel, yellow-headed moray eel or yellow-headed moray,[2] is a moray eel found in tropical coral reefs.[3] Gymnothorax rueppelliae is a pale grey to greyish-brown moray with 16–21 dark bars on the body, a bright yellow head and a dark spot at the corner of the mouth.[4][5][6] They differ from the Gymnothorax pikei, a close relative that lives Papua New Guinea.[7] They have fewer vomerine teeth.[7] They also reach a maximum length of 80 cm.[8]
| Gymnothorax rueppelliae | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Muraenidae |
| Genus: | Gymnothorax |
| Species: | G. rueppelliae
|
| Binomial name | |
| Gymnothorax rueppelliae (McClelland, 1844)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Gymnothorax rueppellii McClelland, 1844 | |
Distribution, habitat, and diet
editThey can be found in lagoons and reefs from the Red Sea and East Africa to Hawaii, Tuamotu, the Marquesas Islands, North of the Ryukyu Islands and South of the Great Barrier Reef.[9]
These eels are nocturnal and live at 1–40 m depth.[10] They feed on fish, crabs, and shrimp.[11]
References
edit- ^ Smith, D.G.; McCosker, J.; Tighe, K. (2019). "Gymnothorax rueppelliae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T195857A2428153. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T195857A2428153.en. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ^ Common names for Gymnothorax rueppellii at www.fishbase.org.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Gymnothorax rueppelliae". FishBase. October 2015 version.
- ^ Bray, D.J. (2011):Gymnothorax rueppelliae Archived 2018-02-03 at the Wayback Machine Fishes of Australia.
- ^ "Morena Bandeada (Gymnothorax rueppelliae)". Natusfera. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ Smith, J. L. B. (1977). Smiths’ Sea Fishes. Macmillan South Africa. ISBN 9783642828584.
- ^ a b KAILOLA, PATRICIA. "The Rare Moray Eel Gymnothorax pikei Bliss Recorded from Papua New Guinea" (PDF). Pacific Science. 29.
- ^ "Gymnothorax rueppelliae - Banded Moray". www.reeflifesurvey.com. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "Gymnothorax rueppelliae, Banded moray : aquarium". fishbase.mnhn.fr. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "Gymnothorax rueppelliae Brown-banded moray eel". B Aqua.
- ^ "Gymnothorax rueppelliae (McClelland, 1844)". Atlas of Living Australia.
External links
edit- Photos of Gymnothorax rueppelliae on Sealife Collection
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