Starry Moray, Echidna nebulosa

Starry Moray, Echidna nebulosa. Fish caught in coastal waters off Durban, South Africa, March 2019. Length: 36 cm (14 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

Starry Moray, Echidna nebulosa. Fish caught in coastal waters off St. Lucia, South Africa, March 2019. Length: 65 cm (2 feet 2 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, San Diego, California.

Starry Moray, Echidna nebulosa. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters off Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, August 2015. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

Starry Moray, Echidna nebulosa. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, November 2018. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

Starry Moray, Echidna nebulosa. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, December 2019. Photographs and identification courtesy of Maude Jette, Dive Zihuantanejo, www.Divezihuatanejo.com.

The Starry Moray, Echidna nebulosa, is a member of the Moray and Snake Moray Eels or Muraenidae Family, that is also known as the Clouded Moray and the Snowflake Moray and in Mexico as morena estrellada. Globally, there are eleven species in the genus Echidna, of which three are found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic and two in the Pacific Ocean.

The Starry Moray has a thick body that tapers gradually toward the tail. They are white with 2 rows of large black blotches and black spots between the blotches that become more linear with maturity. Their head is unmarked before the eyes, affording a “beak-like” appearance. Their eyes and nostrils are yellow. Their head is broad with a short snout, short jaws, and tubular nostrils. Their mouth is equipped with molar-like teeth on the roof, short stout conical teeth at the front, and 1 or 2 rows of close-set compressed nodular teeth on each jaw. Their anal fin originates immediately after the anus and their dorsal origin is before the gill openings. Their tail has a blunt tip; it is covered with skin and slightly greater than half the body length.

The Starry Moray is a benthic species found within rocks, corals, and crevices of intertidal reefs at depths up to 47 m (155 feet). They will also enter shallow lagoons. They reach a maximum of 80 cm (2 feet 6 inches) in length. As of January 1, 2023, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 0.57 kg (1 lb 4 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Hawaii in March 2013. They are normally solitary individuals and can be seen in the open or within structures with only their head exposed. They are nocturnal ambush predators that feed on small fish and invertebrates. Reproduction is not well understood but is believed to occur via protogynous hermaphroditism, such that they start life as females and change to males at midlife. The Starry Moray is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Starry Moray has a limited distribution in Mexican waters of the Pacific being found from La Paz, Baja California Sur, southward along the southeast coast of Baja and from Mazatlán, Sinaloa, south along the coast of the mainland to Guatemala.

The Starry Moray cannot be confused with any other species due to its facial markings.

From a conservation perspective the Starry Moray is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are sold commercially and are a very popular saltwater aquarium species due to their smaller size, peaceful nature, and colorful markings. They are very hardy but require large aquariums and a high level of maintenance. They are also notorious escape artists and are known to prey on small fish and some invertebrates but not crustaceans. They will also bite the hand that feeds them. They can live up to four years in captivity.