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Of all the anomalous behavior I’ve experienced amongst divers; the
haphazard placement of their hands, even petting and feeding of Moray
Eels strikes me as the most foolhardy. These animals are NOT pets; but
wild animals… that have markedly poor eyesight and the capacity for
doing tremendous biting damage and notable secondary infection. Not to
scare you out of enjoying encounters with these fishes; it is my fervent
hope only to encourage your caution in approaching them.
Morays are true eels, members of the biological taxon, Order
Anquilliformes. There are other “Eel” families and eel-like fishes;
usually judged simply on the basis of having many head lengths into
their body lengths in proportion or locomoting via throwing their bodies
into sigmoidal curves. The Moray family, Muraenidae comprises some two
hundred species divided into sixteen genera. They occur in all oceans
(and there are a few freshwater species) in tropical to temperate
shallows to a few hundred meter depths. Surprising to some folks is just
how numerous these usually shy, reclusive fishes are. In Hawaii, the
thirty some species of “puhi” make up more than half of all fish biomass
on nearshore rocky reefs. I have even been shocked at times when out
during biological surveys, at just how many Morays “float out” when an
area is sampled.
Some are under a foot in length, though most are
a few feet, and a few get to about three meters long.
All Moray Eels have large mouths and
numerous teeth, though some species teeth are rounded knobs, a
modification useful to them as crab and shrimp eaters. Most Morays are
piscivorous however and their jaws bear sharp, backward curving conical
teeth; useful for grabbing and tearing prey, and directing it back to
the throat.
Look ma, no fins! Look
closely at a Moray, notice anything? Yes; they lack pectoral, pelvic and
caudal fins! Look more closely; they also are scale-less, smooth-bodied
fishes. Though very bony, and at times, places vectors of ciguatera fish
poisoning Morays are consumed in large numbers by humans around the
world. Examples (to avoid):
By Day or Night:
Morays for the most part are nocturnal animals; aquarium-desirable
species are mostly collected at night time; though they do make day-time
appearances.
Though they look menacing, Morays keep their mouths open principally to
aid in aerating their gills, pulling water into the mouth via buccal
suction, passing it over their gills and out the small gill opening on
either side of their heads. Avoiding Troubles:
Staying out of trouble is easy to do if you adhere to good diving
practices of NOT TOUCHING anything while in the water including
practicing good buoyancy control. It is exceedingly rare that a Moray
will swim out of cover expressly to approach or bite a diver. If you see
one out and about, do keep your eyes on it, and if it approaches you,
hold your arms and legs close to your body.
If for whatever reason you find yourself poking about or worse, lifting
rocks on the bottom, be aware of the imminent possibility that you may
get bitten, stung, or badly scratched in the process. Gloves can help,
though some Morays can bite and hold more strongly than a human can
resist. On this same note, and though it may read as impossible to
comply, the best thing to do if bitten is to remain calm and NOT PULL
BACK from the animal; too-likely resulting in further damage. Almost
always a Moray will quickly release a non-struggling body part.
Treatments: Physical and Biological
Any Moray bite should be taken very seriously. The
microbes associated with their mouths have been known to cause dangerous
infection. WASH the area thoroughly. Are Moray bites toxic? This is a
still-debated point, though it is scientifically known that some do
excrete toxins in their body slime (crinotoxins). Some of these studied
toxins cause red blood cells to clump (hemaglutinin), and others to
split RBCs (hemolytic). Can these toxins be transferred into bites? The
bites DO HURT as if this were so.
Oh, and some of these toxins are glycoproteins; so
there may be allergic reactions to contend with as well.
Secondary infections are commonly associated with Moray bites. Think of
all the neat cleaner shrimp and fish photos you’ve seen with Morays in
them. Their mouths are not clean, and do transfer microbes when they
bite; among them septicemia causing Vibrio and ever-present
Pseudomonas.
Even for small bites that result in physical damage and toxic
exposures, sources encourage the immersion of the affected area in very
warm water for a few tens of minutes for denaturing probable protein
toxins as well as hopefully killing harmful microbes. Disinfect the area
and if swelling, redness or pain persists, DO seek medical help.
Bacteria in the blood (septicemia) can result in hospital stay and the
need for aggressive, monitored antibiotic administration.
Larger bites with tissue damage, blood loss, call for steps to
alleviate bleeding and immediate medical care.
Cloze:
So; as with all dangerous marine animals; forewarned is fore-armed: be
aware of, and avoid coming in physical contact with too-spiny and toxic
sea urchins. This is easily done given good buoyancy control, awareness
of your surroundings; and the usual good placement of your hands and
body en toto. Should you get barely spined unintentionally there is
likely little you can and should do other than ameliorative analgesic
action. Too many, too deep spines breaking off in you or too extreme
effects of duration call for prompt medical attention. Morays aren’t
vicious fishes, and are undeserving of such a label; however they can be
dangerous if provoked, or startled.
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