California moray

Natural history

During the day the moray sits in crevices with only their head protruding. At night they prowl the reef looking for octopuses and small fishes.

This unusual fish doesn’t have scales. A yellowish mucus covering the moray's skin protects them from being scraped by rough surfaces.

After a California moray spawns, the eggs hatch into larvae that may drift in the currents for up to 12 months before settling to the bottom and taking the adult form. A juvenile lives in tidal pools, while the adult lives in deeper water. A moray lives about 30 years.

Conservation

As shallow-water fish, California morays are vulnerable to the impacts of pollution and habitat degradation.

Cool facts

• Scientists believe that the California morays off southern California don’t reproduce, possibly because the water is too cold. The morays here in Monterey hatch off the coast of Baja California and drift north as larvae.
• Fishes that live in open environments can quickly open their mouths wide when prey approaches, creating a negative pressure that helps suck prey in. This doesn't work for the moray. They live in small spaces where they can't open their mouth wide enough to create negative pressure. Instead, they have an extra set of jaws in their throat. When their front jaws bite into prey, the back jaws spring forward and drag the prey into the moray’s throat.
• The moray enjoys a symbiotic relationship with red rock shrimp, which the moray often hosts in their crevice. The cohabitating shrimp eat dead skin and parasites from the moray’s body. In turn, the moray protects the shrimp from predators and gives them ready access to a continual food source.
• The moray has sharp teeth covered with bacteria. A bite can be painful or might become infected. Even though a moray doesn’t bite unless disturbed or frightened, you shouldn’t put your hands into crevices in moray territory.