Green Moray Eel

Hello! I am a Green Moray Eel. My story didn’t begin in a cozy nook on a coral reef, but way out in the vast, open blue of the Atlantic Ocean. I started my life as a tiny, see-through larva called a leptocephalus. At this stage, I looked more like a transparent ribbon than the powerful eel I would one day become. For months, I was a tiny traveler with no specific destination, simply drifting on the ocean currents. The water was my guide, carrying me across great distances as I slowly grew. This early part of my life was a quiet, solitary journey, a speck of life floating in the immense blue, preparing for a great change that was yet to come.

As I grew, a great change came over me. I transformed from my ribbon-like larval form into a miniature version of my adult self, and I felt an instinctual pull toward the shore. My long journey on the open ocean currents was over. I found my permanent home in a beautiful, bustling coral reef in the Caribbean Sea. It was a true city of coral, full of life, color, and countless other creatures going about their day. In this vibrant community, I found the perfect rocky crevice to call my own. This dark and safe space became my sanctuary, a perfect place to observe the world around me and hide from bigger fish like groupers and barracudas that swam in the more open waters of the reef.

You might be wondering why I'm called a Green Moray, and I have a secret for you: I'm not actually green. My skin is a dark, grayish-brown. The brilliant green color that you see is actually a layer of bright yellow mucus that covers my whole body. It might sound a bit slimy, but it’s very useful. This coating protects me from getting scraped by the sharp rocks and coral in my habitat, and it also keeps nasty parasites away. People also sometimes think I look fierce because my mouth is always open, showing off my sharp teeth. But I'm usually not being aggressive; I'm just breathing. To get oxygen, I have to constantly pump water over my gills, and opening and closing my mouth is how I do it. This constant motion allows brave little cleaner shrimp to swim right into my mouth, where they do me a great service by cleaning my teeth for me.

During the day, I prefer to rest in my crevice, but at night, I truly come alive. I am a nocturnal hunter, and my greatest tool isn't my eyesight, which is quite poor, but my incredible sense of smell. From the safety of my crevice, I can detect the faintest scent of a crab, octopus, or unsuspecting fish in the water. Once I have located my prey, I have another secret. Around 2007, scientists shared with the world just how special my jaws are. I have a second set of jaws deep in my throat called pharyngeal jaws. When I bite down with my main jaws, this second set shoots forward with incredible speed, grabs my meal, and pulls it down my throat. This unique adaptation ensures that once I have a hold of my prey, it cannot escape my grasp.

As a top predator, I play a very important role in my reef home. By hunting other animals, I help keep their populations in balance, which in turn keeps the entire ecosystem healthy and thriving. The green moray eel was first introduced to the scientific world in 1840 by naturalist Camillo Ranzani. In the wild, I can live for around 30 years, watching the reef change and grow season after season. My story is a reminder that every creature, no matter how mysterious or strange-looking, has a vital part to play in the beautiful, complex web of ocean life.