Seven interesting facts about the White-eyed Moray Eel:
- The White-eyed Moray Eel (Siderea thyrsoidea) is a widespread tropical species that can be found occurring in the warm waters of the Indo-Pacific region.
- It is known to occur in the west from Sumatra in Indonesia and Christmas Island off Western Australia across to French Polynesia, north to south west Japan and south to Tonga and eastern Australia. It can also been found throughout the waters of Micronesia.
- The body is whitish or pale yellow-brown in colour with a dense scattering of small brown spots.
- The head is purplish grey with the eyes being the most distinguishing feature as the iris is always coloured white. Hence this is how the common name for this species is derived.
- It can be found living in rocky and coral reefs and it is a fairly common inhabitant of reef flats where it is usually encountered in shallow tidal pools. It is often found hiding amongst the wreckage of shipwrecks on amongst rubble in sandy areas.
- It is usually seen in pairs or small aggregations and can often be encountered with other species of moray eels.
- The species grows to a maximum size of 65cm but is more commonly found around 40cm.
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