About Echidna polyzona (Richardson, 1845)
Echidna polyzona, commonly called the barred moray, has multiple other common names including banded moray, dark-banded eel, girdled moray, girdled reef eel, many banded moray eel, ringed moray, ringed reef moray, striped moray, and zebra eel. It is a moray eel belonging to the family Muraenidae. It was first described by John Richardson in 1845, originally classified under the genus Muraena. This is a tropical marine eel found in the Indo-Pacific region, with confirmed locations including the Red Sea, East Africa, the Hawaiian Islands, the Marquesan Islands, the Tuamotus Islands, the Ryukyu Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef. It lives at depths between 2 and 20 metres (6.6 to 65.6 ft), and has a benthic lifestyle in reefs and shallow lagoons. Males of this species can grow to a maximum total length of 72.3 centimetres (28.5 in). It is sometimes confused with the Zebra moray of the genus Gymnomuraena. The barred moray feeds on shrimp such as Saron marmoratus, crabs, isopods, and polychaetes, and actively forages for prey during both day and night. It is commercially useful for both subsistence fisheries and the aquarium trade.
