California moray (Gymnothorax mordax) is a saltwater species recorded in the United States. It is mainly found over reef, rocky, at depths of ≤ 40 m.
Scientific name: Gymnothorax mordax · Water: Saltwater
Size: up to 152 cm
The California moray (Gymnothorax mordax) is a moray eel of the family Muraenidae and the only moray found off California, an apex predator of the reef with few natural predators, a set of pharyngeal jaws for swallowing prey, and a mutualistic relationship with the red rock shrimp that cleans it. It is found in the eastern Pacific from just north of Santa Barbara and Point Conception to Santa Maria Bay in Baja California, and is a common sight on rocky reefs around the southern California islands, notably Catalina in the Channel Islands; juveniles live in tidepools while adults occupy boulder and cobble habitat down to about 40 m and stay in the same area throughout their adult lives. It is thought to be primarily piscivorous, specialising in kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus) as well as taking octopuses, lobsters, other morays and shrimp, and it hunts mostly at night. Anglers fishing California's rocky reefs and breakwaters encounter it when bottom baits are fished into holes and crevices, and it is prized as a hard-fighting, if occasionally bite-prone, catch; it can reach about 1.5 m and is believed to live 22–26 years.
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