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Gymnothorax pictus (Ahl, 1789)

Paintspotted moray
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Gymnothorax pictus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Gymnothorax pictus (Paintspotted moray)
Gymnothorax pictus
Picture by Randall, J.E.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Anguilliformes (Eels and morays) > Muraenidae (Moray eels) > Muraeninae
Etymology: Gymnothorax: Greek, gymnos = naked + Greek, thorax, -akos = breast (Ref. 45335).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 100 m (Ref. 26165). Tropical; 30°N - 26°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indo-Pacific: East Africa (Ref. 26165) to the Galapagos, Cocos, and Clipperton islands; north to the Hawaiian and Ryukyu islands; south to Australia and the Kermadec Islands.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 140 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 30573)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0; Vertebrae: 128 - 135. Greyish and speckled with irregular, dark markings (Ref. 3257). Young yellowish with hollow-centered spots which becomes less conspicuous with age (Ref. 3257). Lacks the molariform teeth as well as the depressible vomerine fangs present in most Gymnothorax and have two rows of vomerine teeth (Ref. 37816).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults inhabit reef flats and rocky intertidal shorelines. Feed on small fishes and crustaceans, sometimes leaving the water in pursuit of prey (Ref. 9710, 48635). Benthic (Ref. 58302). Simultaneous hermaphroditism is confirmed for this species (Ref. 103751). Caught with various nets (Ref. 30573). Solitary (Ref 90102). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 86942.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Simultaneous hermaphroditism is confirmed (Ref. 103751).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Chen, H.-M., K.-T. Shao and C.T. Chen, 1994. A review of the muraenid eels (Family Muraenidae) from Taiwan with descriptions of twelve new records. Zool. Stud. 33(1):44-64. (Ref. 6934)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 18 August 2011

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Reports of ciguatera poisoning (Ref. 4690)





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
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Ecology
Ecology
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Length-weight rel.
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References

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 25 - 29.1, mean 28.1 °C (based on 1736 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00049 (0.00032 - 0.00074), b=3.28 (3.16 - 3.40), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.2   ±0.72 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (84 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 21 [11, 35] mg/100g; Iron = 0.435 [0.251, 0.769] mg/100g; Protein = 18.9 [16.7, 21.5] %; Omega3 = 0.111 [0.049, 0.303] g/100g; Selenium = 52.4 [27.4, 101.6] μg/100g; VitaminA = 73 [21, 261] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.857 [0.599, 1.218] mg/100g (wet weight);