Laced Moray is a type of marine eel belonging to the Muraenidae family. It’s also known as Leopard Moray, Leopard Moray Eel, Tessellate Moray, or Honeycomb Moray.
This eel lives in reef flats and outer slopes of continental reefs.
Laced Moray is one of the largest Indo-Pacific Morays. It’s often found in holes alongside cleaner wrasses and shrimps. This eel feeds on cephalopods (like squids) and small fish.
Large adult Laced Morays can be aggressive and are not reef-safe.
Laced Moray Interesting Facts
- Laced Moray, also known as the Tessellate Moray, is one of the largest Indo-Pacific morays and grows up to 10 feet long.
- This eel has a unique honeycomb pattern on its body, with the amount of black varying based on its habitat.
- Known for their aggressive behavior, Laced Morays are not reef-safe.
- They typically live in marine and brackish environments at depths between 3 to 164 feet in tropical waters.
Laced Moray Habitat
Laced Moray lives in the Indo-Pacific region, specifically from the Red Sea and East Africa to Papua New Guinea.
It’s found as far north as southern Japan and as far south as Australia. This eel inhabits marine and brackish environments, usually associated with reefs.
Laced Morays typically live at depths of 1 to 50 meters (3 to 164 feet) in tropical waters.
| Water Temperature: | Unknown |
| Water pH: | Unknown |
| Water Hardness: | Unknown |
Laced Moray Physical Characteristics
Size: 118.1 inches (300 centimeters)
Laced Moray grows up to 118.1 inches (300 centimeters) long. It doesn’t have any dorsal or anal spines but has around 138 to 144 vertebrae.
This eel is usually white with black blotches that create a honeycomb pattern. However, some eels appear nearly all black.
The amount of black on the body varies from one individual to another and depends on their habitat.
Laced Morays in clear coral reefs typically have less black than those in murky waters.
The key features of Laced Moray are:
- Its body depth at the gill opening is about 11-18 times its total length,
- The dorsal fin starts well before the gill opening,
- The anus is located before the middle of the body,
- The preanal length measures around 2.1 to 2.2 times its total length,
- It has elongated canine teeth in a single row on its upper jaw that are longer than other front jaw teeth, and
- There are two rows of vomerine teeth (teeth located in the roof of the mouth) in adults.
Laced Moray Scientific Classification
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anguilliformes |
| Family: | Muraenidae |
| Genus: | Gymnothorax |
| Scientific Name: | Gymnothorax favagineus |
| Also Known As: | Laced Moray, Leopard Moray, Leopard Moray Eel, Tessellate Moray, Honeycomb Moray |
| Conservation Status: | Least Concern |