For a class assignment, we had to research a marine organism that we might find in the British Virgin Islands. I chose the moray eel, because they are common in that area and I find them interesting.
Moral Eels are long slender fishes of the family Muraenidae. They range in color depending on the species and location, and they are usually one to two meters long, though some species will reach up to three meters long. Most moray eels are dark colors to blend well in murky waters, and they can have various markings on them too such as stripes or spots. They can be black, brown, gray, and olive green. Additionally, they are very fast swimmers and they don’t move like fish in the water, but rather like snakes in their side to side movements. Furthermore, Moray eels are found in both tropical and temperate seas, although the largest number of species are around reefs in warm oceans. They typically stay inside crevices in the reef and ambush small fish. Lastly, An interesting behavior that eels have is that they nearly always have their mouth open, and appear ready to bite. In fact, eels rarely bite humans, and the mouth is open to allow water to pass through the gills, enabling them to breathe.
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