Slenderjaw Moray, Enchelynassa octaviana
Slenderjaw Moray, Enchelynassa octaviana. Underwater photographs taken at night within BahÃa de Banderas, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, October 2026. Photographs and identifications courtesy of Greg Timms, youtube.com/@CoralmasterdivesPuerto-Vallarta/videos.
The Slenderjaw Moray, Enchelynassa octaviana, is a member of the Moray and Snake Eel or Muraenidae Family, that is also known in Mexico as morena boquiabierta, morena octaviana, and morena quijada delgada. There are twelve global species in the Enchelynassa Genus with this being the only species found along the west coasts of North and South America.
The Slenderjaw Moray has an elongated muscular body that is compressed at the rear with a large tapering tail that is 50% or slightly longer than the body length. They are a uniform gray color without any prominent patterns, spots or distinctive markings. They have large eyes that are located mid-mouth. They have tubular front nostrils with a large 2-lobed flap at the rear. Their rear nostril is large and above the eye with a wide raised cup-like rim. They have a long narrow snout, and their mouth has slender strongly arched jaws that does not allow the mouth to close leaving their sharp teeth exposed that are set in alternating patterns of large, razor-sharp conical fangs and large caniniform teeth. The dorsal fin originates before the gill openings. Their skin has narrow irregular ridges. Their anal and dorsal fins are evident. The Slenderjaw Moray is a common, benthic species that is found on shallow reefs and along rocky shores at depths up to 40 m (130 feet). They reach a maximum of 93 cm (3 feet 1 inch) in length. They shelter during daylight hours inside dark rocky crevices, holes and reef recesses and emerge at night to forage. They are voracious ambush predators being obligate carnivores that consume crabs, small reef fishes, octopus, and benthic worms. They constantly open and close their mouth to pump water over its gills for survival. The Slenderjaw Moray is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, diet, growth, habitat, longevity, movement patterns, and reproduction.
The Slenderjaw Moray is a straight forward identification that cannot be easily confused with any other species.
The Slenderjaw Moray is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the exception that they are absent from along the west coast of the Baja Peninsula.
From a conservation perspective the Slenderjaw Moray is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are caught as a by-catch and retained by subsistence fishermen but not at a significant level.