Photography by Valji Varia
www.natural-variation.com
The giant moray is a large eel, reaching up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in length and 30 kg (66 lb) in weight. Its elongated body is brownish in colour.
Moray eels, or Muraenidae are a family of eels whose members are found worldwide. There are approximately 200 species. The dorsal fin extends from just behind the head along the back and joins seamlessly with the caudal and anal fins. Most species lack pectoral and pelvic fins, adding to their serpentine appearance. Their eyes are rather small; morays rely mostly on their highly developed sense of smell, lying in wait to ambush prey. The body is generally patterned. In some species, the inside of the mouth is also patterned. Their jaws are wide, framing a protruding snout. Most possess large teeth used to tear flesh or grasp slippery prey. Morays secrete a protective mucus over their smooth, scaleless skin, which in some species contains a toxin. They have much thicker skin and high densities of goblet cells in the epidermis that allows mucus to be produced at a higher rate than in other eel species. The pharyngeal jaws of morays are located farther back in the head and closely resemble the oral jaws (complete with tiny "teeth"). When feeding, morays launch these jaws into the mouth cavity, where they grasp prey and transport it into the throat. Moray eels are the only known animals that use pharyngeal jaws to actively capture and restrain prey in this way. In addition to the presence of pharyngeal jaws, morays' mouth openings extend far back into the head, compared to fish which feed using suction. In the action of lunging at prey and biting down, water flows out the posterior side of the mouth opening, reducing waves in front of the eel which would otherwise displace prey.
Other marine life is diverse and abundant, including different types of sharks, eagle rays, stingrays, manta rays (November to April), turtles, barracuda, tuna, Napoleons, morays, schools of jacks and trevally, leaf fish, angelfish, butterflyfish, corals, hawkfish, Moorish idols, parrotfish, Portuguese man o' wars, sea turtles, surgeonfish, sweetlips, triggerfish, unicornfish and Sunfish