Fun Giant Moray Facts For Kids

The giant moray eel is a species of moray eel that is mostly found in the Indo-Pacific aquatic regions. They are one of the largest eels in the Muraenidae family, which belongs to the Gymnothorax genus.

giant moray eel facts are quite interesting because of their unique aspects. These eels participate in inter-species predation as they are hunters alongside the roving coral grouper.

Eel hunts in the reef and scares the prey out of the reef in the process. This allows the groupers to eat the prey which has come up from the reef.

In a similar manner, grouper hunting may often push the fish and crustaceans into the reef as the prey looks for shelter in the crevices. There, the eels hunt the prey and eat them.

Giant moray eels also use 'pharyngeal jaws' for hunting like the other moray eels. They have a second set of jaws situated at the back of their throat. Their second jaws also have teeth and help in catching prey and eating it. Keep reading for more amazing giant moray facts!

If you liked this article about the giant moray, also check out the other articles with fascinating facts about the moray eel and electric eel.

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Giant Moray Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a giant moray?

A giant moray (Gymnothorax javanicus) is a type of eel.

What class of animal does a giant moray belong to?

The giant moray (Gymnothorax javanicus) eel belongs to the Actinopterygii class. Angler fish and parrotfish are some other fishes belonging to this class.

How many giant morays are there in the world?

The exact population of giant moray eels (Gymnothorax javanicus) has not yet been recorded by scientists and researchers.

Where does a giant moray live?

The giant moray (Gymnothorax javanicus) distribution is mostly found in the Indo-Pacific ocean region. Its range extends from East Africa to Fiji and the Austral Islands. It is very commonly seen in the Red Sea, Pitcairn group, Hawaii and Polynesia. It is also found in the southern side of Japan and New Caledonia.

What is a giant moray's habitat?

Giant moray eels (Gymnothorax javanicus) prefer a reef habitat and are found in rocky reefs and coral reefs. They prefer to live in lagoons as they find shelter there.

Who do giant morays live with?

Not much is known about the social behavior of giant morays but they are generally considered to be solitary animals who live in the reefs. They take shelter in crevices that are mostly (1-50 m) in depth during the day as they are nocturnal animals. Juveniles are more secretive than the adults and are not easily spotted.

How long does a giant moray live?

Giant morays become full adults at three years of age. While there is not much information about the life cycle and biology of this fish species, moray eels mostly have a lifespan of 15 years.

How do they reproduce?

Giant moray eel species do not have a specific mating season but they usually breed when the water temperatures are the highest. They travel up to 4039 mi (6500 km) for seven months for the purpose of breeding.

Male and female eels look like they are dancing when they are mating. These eels rise into a twisting embrace for several hours. The female lays the eggs which hatch into larvae and slowly mature into young eels.

What is their conservation status?

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the giant moray (Gymnothorax javanicus) as Least Concern in its IUCN Red List.

Giant Moray Fun Facts

What do giant morays look like?

The giant moray eel is brown in color and has a pattern of dark brown spots on its body. They have a large, narrow head which allows them to put their head inside coral crevices when they are hunting.

Their gill opening is located at the back of their head and is circular in shape. They have round eyes and nostrils at the front of their face above their mouth. The young are tan in color and have more black spots.

The adult eels have black specks or spots at the back of their head. These eels have a large dorsal fin but do not have any scales or pectoral or pelvic fins.

How cute are they?

The giant moray is not cute at all! With their beady eyes and strange jaw structure, this marine species has a scary appearance.

How do they communicate?

The giant moray has extremely poor eyesight. Sometimes, they even bite off the fingers of scuba divers or their caregivers because they mistake it for food. This is why they depend on their olfactory sense for hunting and communicating.

How big is a giant moray?

Giant morays have a long body length. However, in terms of giant moray size, their length is large compared to many small eels.

An eel of this species usually grows up to 9.8 ft (3 m). Blue whales are almost ten times the size of giant moray eels as they can grow up to 98 ft (30 m) in length!

How fast can a giant moray swim?

Giant morays generate a huge amount of thin, transparent mucous over their skin as a protective layer as compared to other eels. This helps them glide through the water at a very fast speed without any friction challenges.

How much does a giant moray weigh?

The giant moray eel size might not be considered the largest in terms of its length but it is the largest among its family with respect to its body mass and weight. The average weight of the giant morays is between 66 -79 lb (30-36 kg).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no distinct, unique names for the male and female giant moray eels, so they are usually referred to as a male and female giant moray.

What would you call a baby giant moray?

Following the standard terminology for eels, a baby giant moray is referred to as leptocephalus. Young eels of this species are referred to as elvers. Female eels generally lay a cluster of larvae which then grow into leptocephali.

What do they eat?

Giant morays primarily feed on fish and sometimes on marine crustaceans. Recently, this species was recognized as a natural predator of fish such as the lionfish (Pterois Miles) in the Red Sea.

Are they poisonous?

This eel species is actually poisonous and can be hazardous to human beings. Giant morays are at the top of their food chain, which implies that they have almost no natural predators. They also secrete harmful ciguatera toxins from their body.

Would they make a good pet?

Giant moray eels would not make a good pet at all. They might be found in some aquariums because of their size but it is not possible to keep them as pets because of their aquatic habitat and their habit of hunting fish for food. This eel may even bite if it is threatened or is cornered.

Did you know...

Giant moray eels often look more threatening than they are because their heads stick out of the reef crevice. However, they stick their heads out and open their mouth to merely facilitate respiration. Fish like the cleaner wrasses are found near the giant moray eels as they help clean the interior of the eel's mouth and teeth!

How old can a giant moray be?

There has not been much scientific study about the lifespan of a giant moray eel. However, studies indicate that a giant moray eel once lived up to 36 years.

Can a giant moray eel kill you?

Giant morays are poisonous and secrete the ciguatera toxin which can become quite harmful if the eels are eaten. Although the disease is not seen in Asia, the giant moray eel attack is noted in the Caribbean and South American regions.

If the giant moray eel is eaten then it can harm the liver and cause extreme sickness that might lead to coma or death.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these conger eel facts and stonefish facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Giant moray coloring pages.