Moray Eel

Moray eels are a large family of eel-like fish found in warm and temperate seas worldwide, most commonly associated with coral reefs and rocky crevices, where they spend much of the day hidden with only their head protruding, opening and closing their mouths repeatedly to pump water over their gills, a behavior often mistaken for aggression. They have elongated, scaleless bodies lacking pectoral fins, and most species rely primarily on a keen sense of smell rather than eyesight to locate prey such as fish, crustaceans and octopuses, which they seize with sharp, backward-curving teeth. Uniquely among fish, several moray species possess a second set of jaws in the throat, called pharyngeal jaws, which shoot forward to help drag captured prey deeper into the digestive tract, a mechanism otherwise rare among vertebrates. Though moray eels can deliver a painful bite if provoked or mishandled, they are generally shy toward humans and play an important role as reef predators across their wide range.