1 reply to this topic

[marriard]

This small moray (no more than 10cm in length) was one of several we found in very shallow water (less than 5ft) in Anilao in The Philippines.



Not sure if this is a juvenile of a larger species, or the adult form of a small moray.

Any help appreciated,

M

[scubamarli]

Well, I thought it might be a juvenile Giant moray, Gymnothorax javanicus, but they apparently have rows of dark spots. It looks a bit like a Yellow margined moray, but their eyes are orange. The striking white markings around the mouth are distinctive, and look like a Freckled Moray, Gymnothorax fuscomaculatus, in Leiske and Myers, but the colour is a bit off...however their illustrations are paintings, and can differ a bit. This critter's range includes the Phillipines, and gets no larger than 20cm. There seems to be a white spot on the tail in your photo...maybe damage, but do you have any photos which include the tail? Some morays colour patterns differ farther back on the body. Fishbase has this photo:
http://www.fishbase....=fuscomaculatus
Marli