Palenose Moray, Echidna nocturna

Palenose Moray, Echidna nocturna. Fish caught by hand out of a tidal pool, Km 17, El Tule, Baja California Sur, February 2018. Length: 336 cm (13 inches); Tail: 46%.

Palenose Moray, Echidna nocturna. Fish collected while I  was strolling down the beach early morning, Km 21, Cabo Real, Baja California Sur, May 2020. Length. 46 cm (18 inches); Tail: 46%. Note: this fish lacks the traditional white spots!

Palenose Moray, Echidna nocturna. Underwater photographs taken in Zihuantanejo Bay, Guerrero, December 2018 and January 2022. Photographs courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

Palenose Moray, Echidna nocturna. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters off Punta Pescadero, Baja California Sur, July 2020. Photograph courtesy of Doug Bomeisler, Fort Pierce, Florida.

The Palenose Moray, Echidna nocturna, is a member of the Moray and Snake Moray Eel or Muraenidae Family, that is also known as the Freckled Faced Moray and in Mexico as morena pecosa. Globally, there are 11 members in the genus Echidna, of which 3 are found in Mexican waters, 1 in the Atlantic and 2 in the Pacific Ocean.

The Palenose Moray has a stout elongated body that tapers gradually toward the tail. They are dark brown in color and transition to lighter brown ventrally. The first half of their body is covered with widely-spaced small tan-yellowish spots. Their top jaw has a row of tan-yellowish spots that extend from the tip of the snout to the rear margin of the eyes; their lower jaw has similarly colored spots than extend to the end of the mouth. Their front nostrils are orange. They lack the black spot covering the gill openings found in many Morays. Their head is broad with a short snout and short jaws. Their front nostril is tubular whereas their rear nostril is a small hole in front of the eyes. They have molar-like teeth on the roof of their mouth. Their anal and dorsal fins originate before the gill openings and are covered with skin. Their tail is covered with skin, has a blunt tip and is slightly greater than 50% of body length.

The Palenose Morays are common inhabitants of shallow rocky reef areas and are found within cracks and crevices in the subtidal zone at depths up to 30 m (100 feet). They reach a maximum of 75 cm (30 inches) in length. They are nocturnal ambush predators with poor eyesight that utilize their keen sense of smell to seek out prey, consuming small fish and invertebrates including crab, octopus, and shrimp. Reproduction is viviparous with eggs and sperm broadcast into the water generating pelagic eggs and larvae that drift in oceanic currents before settling out on the bottom. The Palenose Moray  is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Palenose Moray is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific but has a limited distribution being found from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, southward along the southwest coast of Baja, in the lower two-thirds of the Sea of Cortez, and along the west coast of the mainland south to Guatemala.

Due to its facial spotting, the Palenose Moray is straightforward to identify and cannot be confused with any other species.

From a conservation perspective the Palenose Moray is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are very seldom seen by humans. When encountered they are visually most intimidating but are very timid and not harmful and are only known to bite humans on rare occasions. They are caught on occasion by recreational anglers out of heavy rock structures and are normally a “catch and release”.