Echidna nocturna

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Echidna nocturna
Echidna nocturna.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Muraenidae
Genus: Echidna
Species:
E. nocturna
Binomial name
Echidna nocturna
(Cope, 1872)

Echidna nocturna is a moray eel found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, in the Gulf of California and around Peru and the Galapagos Islands. [1] It was first named by Cope in 1872, [1] and is commonly known as the freckled moray or the palenose moray. [2] It was discovered that Echidna nocturna and Muraena acutis are the same species. [3]

Contents

Description

Echidna nocturna has a long snake-like body with an average vertebral count of 120.4 vertebrae. [4] The average length of an adult eel is 48.26 cm. [3] Juveniles range in size from 8.52 cm to 35.48 cm with the average length being 22 cm. [5] They weigh between 1.12g and 296.1 g with the average weight being 49.62 grams. [5] It is gray-brown in color with rows of small white spots along its body. Its nose is paler in color compared to the rest of its body.

Habitat and distribution

Echidna nocturna habitats are distributed throughout the tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean. [3] They are found in both intertidal and coral reef habitats. [5] Juveniles typically reside in rocky shore tidepools while adults reside near the tidepools or in coral reefs. [5] Like other moray eels they have a pelagic larval phase. [6]

Diet

Echidna nocturna is an exclusively carnivorous species. [7] They have a low niche breadth, meaning they are specialized feeders. [7] Their diet consists primarily of the shrimp Penaeoidea . [7] They also consume crabs ( Brachyura), stomapoda, and some other small animals. [7] Echidna nocturna are sometimes host to Theletrum lamothei, a species of digenean parasite. [8] This species of Theletrum was first discovered in the intestine of Echidna nocturna. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moray eel</span> Family of fishes

Moray eels, or Muraenidae, are a family of eels whose members are found worldwide. There are approximately 200 species in 15 genera which are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water, and a few are found in fresh water.

<i>Echidna</i> (fish) Genus of fishes

Echidna is a genus of moray eels in the family Muraenidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kidako moray</span> Species of fish

The Kidako moray is a species of marine fish in the family Muraenidae. It inhabits coral reefs or lagoons and could be found in tropical and subtropical seas near Taiwan, Japan, and Australia. The species is diurnal, which means it is more active in the daytime than the nighttime. It is also piscivorous: it consumes fish, octopus, and squid. Other than the Kidako moray, there are about 200 species of moray eels in the Muraenidae family. The Kidako moray would not attack humans unless they are provoked. However, due to the menacing looks of the Kidako moray and moray eels in general, they are feared by divers and snorkelers.

<i>Monopenchelys</i> Genus of fishes

Monopenchelys acuta, the redface moray or redface eel, is a species of saltwater eel, the only member of the genus Monopenchelys of the Muraenidae family. It is found in the Atlantic, the eastern Pacific, and the western Indian Ocean. Its length is up to 209 mm.

<i>Strophidon</i> Genus of eels

Strophidon is a genus of eels in the family Muraenidae. The genus has a wide distribution throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans where they mostly inhabit the benthic zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zebra moray</span> Species of fish

The zebra moray is a species of marine fish in the family Muraenidae. It is the only member of the genus Gymnomuraena, though it sometimes has been included in Echidna instead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California moray</span> Species of fish

The California moray is a moray eel of the family Muraenidae, found in the eastern Pacific from just north of Santa Barbara to Santa Maria Bay in Baja California. They are the only species of moray eel found off California, and one of the few examples of a subtropical moray. They typically occupy boulder or cobble habitats up to 40 m in depth. They can attain lengths of about 5 ft (1.52 m) and are believed to live for upwards of 22–26 years. Like other morays, they have no pelvic or pectoral fins or gill covers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-edged moray</span> Species of fish

The yellow-edged moray, also known as yellow-margin(ed) moray, leopard moray, and speckled moray, is a moray eel of the family Muraenidae, found in the Indo-Pacific Oceans at depths to 150 m (500 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barred moray</span> Species of fish

The barred moray, also known as the banded moray, the dark-banded eel, the girdled moray, the girdled reef eel, the many banded moray eel, the ringed moray, the ringed reef moray, the striped moray and the zebra eel,) is a moray eel of the family Muraenidae. It was described by John Richardson in 1845, originally under the genus Muraena. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including the Red Sea, East Africa, the Hawaiian Islands, the Marquesan Islands, the Tuamotus Islands, the Ryukyu Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef. It dwells at a depth range of 2 to 20 metres, and leads a benthic lifestyle in reefs and shallow lagoons. Males can reach a maximum total length of 72.3 centimetres (28.5 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snowflake moray</span> Species of fish

The snowflake moray, also known as the clouded moray among many vernacular names, is a species of marine eel of the family Muraenidae. It has blunt teeth ideal for its diet of crustaceans, a trait it shares with the zebra moray.

Echidna delicatula, the mottled moray, also known as the fine-speckled moray, is a moray eel. It was described by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856, originally under the genus Poecilophis. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including Sri Lanka, Samoa, and Japan. It inhabits coral reefs. It can reach a maximum total length of 65 centimetres (26 in).

Echidna leucotaenia, the whiteface moray, also known as the white-banded moray eel, is a moray eel. It was described by Schultz in 1943. It is a tropical, marine and freshwater eel which is known from the Indo-Pacific, including East Africa, the Line Islands, the Tuamotu Islands, and Johnston Island. It dwells at a depth range of 0 to 24 metres, and leads a benthic lifestyle in reefs. Males can reach a maximum total length of 75 centimetres (30 in).

<i>Echidna peli</i> Species of fish

Echidna peli is a moray eel found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It was first named by Johann Jakob Kaup in 1856, and is commonly known as the pebbletooth moray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitemargin moray eel</span> Species of fish

The whitemargin moray or the white-edged moray, Gymnothorax albimarginatus, is a species of marine fish in the family Muraenidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackcheek moray eel</span> Species of fish

The blackcheek moray eel or masked moray is a species of marine fish in the family Muraenidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greyface moray eel</span> Species of fish

The greyface moray eel, also called the freckled moray, slender moray, or white-eyed moray, Gymnothorax thyrsoideus, is a species of marine fish in the family Muraenidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barred-fin moray</span> Species of fish

The barred-fin moray or bar-tail moray is a species of marine fish in the family Muraenidae.

The Flores mud moray is an eel in the family Muraenidae. It was described by John E. McCosker and John Ernest Randall in 2008. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from Indonesia, in the western Pacific Ocean. It is known to dwell at a depth range of 3–4 m. Males can reach a maximum total length of 29.9 cm.

The black body moray is an eel in the family Muraenidae. It was described by Loh Kar-Hoe, Shao Kwang-Tsao, and Chen Hong-Ming in 2011. It is a tropical, marine eel which is known from southeastern Taiwan, off Changbin, Taitung to Shihtiping, Hualien City and in the Pacific Ocean. Males are known to reach a maximum total length of 49.6 cm, while females are known to reach a maximum of 50.4 cm.

The Shao's moray is an eel in the family Muraenidae. It is a marine, temperate-water eel known from Taiwan, in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Males are known to reach a maximum total length of 60.8 cm.

References

  1. 1 2 Echidna nocturna at www.fishbase.org.
  2. Common names for Echidna nocturna at www.fishbase.org.
  3. 1 2 3 Böhlke (deceased), Eugenia B.; Smith, David G. (October 2002). "Type Catalogue of Indo-Pacific Muraenidae". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 152 (1): 89–172. doi:10.1635/0097-3157(2002)152[0089:TCOIPM]2.0.CO;2. ISSN   0097-3157.
  4. McCleneghan, Kim (1976-03-12). "Vertebral Counts of Some Pacific Morays (Family Muraenidae)". Copeia. 1976 (1): 207–210. doi:10.2307/1443798. JSTOR   1443798.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Castellanos-Galindo, G. A.; Giraldo, A.; Rubio, E. A. (August 2005). "Community structure of an assemblage of tidepool fishes on a tropical eastern Pacific rocky shore, Colombia". Journal of Fish Biology. 67 (2): 392–408. doi: 10.1111/j.0022-1112.2005.00735.x . ISSN   0022-1112.
  6. Reece, Js; Bowen, Bw; Smith, Dg; Larson, A (2011-09-15). "Comparative phylogeography of four Indo-Pacific moray eel species (Muraenidae) reveals comparable ocean-wide genetic connectivity despite five-fold differences in available adult habitat". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 437: 269–277. Bibcode:2011MEPS..437..269R. doi: 10.3354/meps09248 . ISSN   0171-8630.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Castellanos-Galindo, Gustavo Adolfo; Giraldo, Alan (March 2008). "Food resource use in a tropical eastern Pacific tidepool fish assemblage". Marine Biology. 153 (6): 1023–1035. doi:10.1007/s00227-007-0874-y. ISSN   0025-3162.
  8. 1 2 Rodríguez-Ortíz, Beatriz; García-Prieto, Luis; Pérez-Ponce de León, Gerardo (2014-07-10). "Checklist of the helminth parasites of vertebrates in Costa Rica". Revista de Biología Tropical. 52 (2): 313. doi: 10.15517/rbt.v52i2.15249 . ISSN   2215-2075.