Snowflake Moray Eel

Snorkelling in the Lagoon at Kingston is always interesting. I always have my camera and I enjoy recording images of the beautiful underwater world. I am always searching for new fish and marine creatures or those we don’t see very often.

This month I saw an interesting Moray eel, it was sitting on the sand in the lagoon out in the open and it was interesting to watch it and take a few photographs. It didn’t appear to be concerned that it was being watched, then after a while it moved to a nearby rock and tucked itself away into the reef. The eel was a pale colour, almost matching the sand, it had dark patches with yellow marks within these patches. The eel’s face was interesting, it had two little yellow nostrils and the face almost looked like a bird’s beak. The Moray eel looked very healthy and was quite chunky or fat looking.

As this was a Moray eel, I had not seen before, I research the images in my books and on the internet and found the official name is “Starry Moray, Echidna nebulosa (Ahl 1789)”. It is also known as “Snowflake Moray” or “Clouded Eel”.

The “Snowflake Moray Eels” Inhabits intertidal reef flats, lagoons, and seaward reefs, often between rocks and corals. These moray eels feed on crustaceans and sometimes smaller fishes.

I checked out images on Susan Prior’s internet page which features the Norfolk Island underwater fish, coral and other amazing creatures that live in the sub-tropical waters in the lagoon at Kingston. Check out the web page to see the array of amazing colours of the eels that can be spotted in coral reef in Slaughter Bay, Emily Bay, and the coastal shores of Norfolk Island.

Norfolk Island's Eels (norfolkislandreef.com.au)

NORFOLK ISLAND’S EELS

Here are some of the species of eel found inside the lagoons on Norfolk Island.

The “Snowflake Moray Eel” can be found around Australia, from Western Australia, Northern Great Barrier, NSW, Coral Sea, Tasman Sea, in Lord Howe Island and here on Norfolk Island as well. Check out the Fishes of Australia web page for more details, it has information about many fish and the marine life of Australia:

Echidna nebulosa (fishesofaustralia.net.au)

Other Names:

Bosch's Reef-eel, Clouded Eel, Clouded Moray, Clouded Reef Eel, Snowflake Moray, Starry Eel

Summary:

A pale moray covered in dark speckles, with two rows of large dendritic black blotches that often enclose irregular yellow spots, a yellow iris and nostrils, and a white snout. The black speckles and spots between the blotches become irregularly linear with age.

I have spoken to a couple of locals and the “Snowflake Moray Eel” is not seen very often. I am so pleased I was able to capture these images to share to educate about the variety of life living in the lagoon. Here are a couple of my photographs I took in Slaughter Bay around midday 19 March 2023.

The water is still warm in the lagoon, but when swimming please take care of our fragile underwater world. Please do not stand on the coral, look, and do not touch, take photos and memories. Here on Norfolk Island, we are so privileged to have a Sub-tropical reef on our doorstep, we need to care for the reef and marine life for future generations.

Betty Matthews

March 2023