About Gymnothorax fimbriatus (Bennett, 1832)
Gymnothorax fimbriatus is a medium-sized moray eel that can reach a maximum total length of 80 centimeters, or 31 inches. It has a serpentine-shaped body with a white-cream to light brown base color, dotted with numerous black spots. The size and shape of these black spots vary between individual eels and change with the eel’s maturity. This species has a tapered snout on its head, which is greenish-yellow with black dots, and the corners of its mouth are white. The spot-face moray is widely distributed across the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region. It occurs primarily on coastal reefs of oceanic islands, ranging from Madagascar to Polynesia, and from southern Japan to New Caledonia. It inhabits protected areas on the outer slopes of coral reefs, top reefs, lagoons, and harbors. During daylight hours, it stays sheltered in rock crevices at depths between 1 and 50 meters, which is 3 to 164 feet.
