The turkey moray, Gymnothorax meleagris, is a moray eel of the family Muraenidae, found in the Indo-Pacific oceans from the Red Sea and East Africa to the Marquesas and Mangar??va, north to the Ryukyu and Hawaiian islands, south to Lord Howe Island, at depths down to 36 m. Its length is up to 1.2 m.
The turkey moray occurs in coral-rich areas of lagoon and seaward reefs. It prefers very shallow depth and juveniles are often in intertidal zones. It is often seen hunting during low tide among partly exposed reefs. It feeds mainly on fishes and crustaceans, by day and probably also at night. Ciguatera poisoning has been reported.
Coloration is dark skin with small white spots, contrasting with white inside the mouth. |
