About Conger cinereus Rüppell, 1830
Conger cinereus Rüppell, 1830 has a slender, elongated body. Larger individuals reach approximately 1.3 to 1.4 meters (4 feet 3 inches to 4 feet 7 inches) in total length. Its base color is gray-brown when seen in daylight, but individuals have been reported to display blue-gray bands at night, a pattern thought to help with camouflage. A distinct dark line runs below the eye and extends across the upper lip; this marking gives the species its common name, moustache conger. This conger is distributed across most of the Indo-West Pacific. Its range stretches from the Red Sea and eastern Africa, including Madagascar, the Seychelles, and Tanzania, east to the Marquesas and Easter Islands. The northern edge of its range is reported to reach southern Japan and the Ogasawara Islands, while its southern limit has been recorded around northern Australia and Lord Howe Island. It inhabits a variety of coastal environments, including reefs, seagrass beds, and sandy bottoms. Most individuals are found at depths between 1 meter (3 feet 3 inches) and 80 meters (262 feet 6 inches), though there are occasional records of the species from deeper waters. It has also been documented in brackish water, and is frequently found in neritic and subtidal zones located near reefs.
