Paintspotted Moray Eel

Gymnothorax pictus

The peppered moray eel (Gymnothorax pictus) is a medium-sized moray reaching about 120 cm found across the Indo-Pacific from East Africa to the eastern Pacific. It has a white to cream body densely covered with small dark brown to black spots, giving it a 'peppered' appearance. The head is more heavily spotted, and the spots may merge into blotches in some individuals. It inhabits shallow reef flats, lagoons, and tide pools, often in areas with mixed coral and rubble substrate. More commonly active during the day than many morays, it can be seen hunting small fish and crustaceans in shallow water. It is one of the more commonly encountered morays in shallow reef habitats.