Diet

• A carnivorous predator that feeds mainly on fishes and crustaceans, including crabs and shrimps. It may also take cephalopods. Hunting activity increases at night, when it leaves its shelter and searches through surrounding reef habitat.

Range

• The Panamic Green Moray, Gymnothorax castaneus, is endemic to the tropical eastern Pacific, ranging from the Gulf of California south to Ecuador. It occurs along the Pacific coast of Mexico and in the Zihuatanejo region.

Habitat

• It inhabits rocky reefs, boulder fields, reef walls and crevices. Adults shelter in holes and dark recesses during the day and forage over nearby habitat at night. Juveniles may also occur around mangroves.

Description

• A large, robust moray eel reaching about 150 cm. The snout is heavy and blunt, with tubular front nostrils and raised-rimmed rear nostrils. The teeth are conical and lack serrations. The body is usually plain brown to brownish green, sometimes with scattered white or yellowish flecks, particularly toward the rear. The dorsal and anal fins form relatively tall, skin-covered ridges, with the dorsal fin beginning on top of the head well ahead of the gill opening. Juveniles are much darker, often nearly black, with a pale border along the dorsal fin.