Fish Identification Photos: White Spotted Moray Eel, Muraena argus: The White Spotted Moray Eel has a wide body with an overall brown to green-brown coloration, with the anal and dorsal fins white rimmed and covered with skin. The White Spotted Moray Eel has three rows of large irregular white blotches along its sides. The dorsal fin originates well ahead of the gill opening. There is a small black spot covering the gill opening. There are a few white or yellow flecks on the rear half of the body and dorsal fin.

The White Spotted Moray Eel has large and distinct anal and dorsal fins. The White Spotted Moray Eel has golden eyes with a dark pupils. It is found in the first 150 feet of the water column around rocky reefs. It reaches a maximum length of just over 3 feet. In Mexico, it is found south of Magdalena Bay on the Pacific side of the Baja California peninsula, in the lower three-fourths of the Sea of Cortez, and along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala; it appears to be absent from the oceanic islands. The White Spotted Moray Eel might be confused with the Fine-Spotted Moray, Gymnothorax dovii (small white spots covering all parts of the body behind the head), the Hourglass Moray, Muraena clepsydra (dense small cream spots), and the Jewel Moray, Muraena lentiginosa (pale round spots, no black spot on gill opening).

The White Spotted Moray Eel is one of several moray eels found in Mexican waters all belonging to the Muraenidae Family which also includes the Snake Moray Eels. The morays are characterized by elongated muscular compressed bodies and large mouths. They lack pectoral fins and scales. The anal and dorsal fins are continuous with the caudal fin. There are 200 species known globally of which 28 reside in the Tropical Eastern Pacific. Members of the Muraena Genus have heads and trunks that are shorter than their tails, the dorsal fin originating before the gill opening, and the gill opening is a small slit in a black spot on mid-side. There are 10 species known globally of which three reside in Mexican waters. They are night feeders, dining on small fishes and invertebrates including crabs, octopuses and shrimp.

White Spotted Moray Eel, Muraena argus: Caught with Capt. Pata in the panga Salome, La Playita, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, midmorning in January 2003, in 72-degree, 50 to 100 foot deep water, utilizing a 30-pound test, 40-pound two dropper loop rig, with swivel, 3-ounce bank sinker, and Mustad 92553 hooks, size 2/0, on a cut squid, 20 miles north of La Playita. Size approximately 24 inches and 1.5 pounds. A strict “catch and release.” Description and photos courtesy John Snow. White Spotted Moray Eel, Muraena argus: Caught in the Midriff Islands, Sea of Cortez, Baja California, Mexico. Photo courtesy Gene Kira. Fish identification courtesy John Snow.